Melancholy
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: Some people know instantly who they're meant to spend the rest of their life with. But you must be careful not to take that person for granted, or it may end up being the biggest mistake of your life. -Rated for Sexual Content- Kurogané x Viletta Note: An OC story
1. Friendship

**Melancholy**

_Chapter One_

-Friendship-

Izayoi walked down the streets of Konoha, her long ebony locks falling around her as she pulled her twins in each hand towards the school district. "Aren't you two so excited to start primary school?" the Uchiha beamed, looking down at each in turn.

"Yes!" the small girl cheered, seeming to brighten, her stormy grey eyes shining with eagerness. Her hair was the same black all Uchihas had, though on the right side she had a white streak from her roots till where her hair ended in the middle of her back.

"What about you Kurogané?" Izayoi asked, looking over at her boy on her other hand. He looked similar to the girl, only he had soft jade depths and his black hair was cut short and jagged. He also had a white streak, but his was on the left side of his head.

He looked up at her, not seeming as happy as his sister. "I guess so." He said.

"You'll be in class with your cousins Sakimori and Ryousuke." Their mother tried to encourage him. "I bet you'll have lots of fun with them."

This only made him scrunch up his face slightly. "But Mommy, I see them all the time."

"Well…" she blinked, before smiling once more. "You can make new friends too!"

"Zuzu has a better chance of that than I do." He muttered, looking down at the ground as they continued to walk.

Izumi giggled. "I bet you can at least make one friend Kuro."

Kurogané looked over at his twin. "But I don't want to make a friend. I just wanna be left alone."

"But friends are nice." She frowned, looking at him with sad, wide eyes.

"Now, now." Izayoi chided, sensing a fight brewing. They stopped when they finally came up to the primary school and went in, getting their class assignments. Izayoi walked her children to their class, kissing her daughter's head before the girl ran inside. The dark haired woman kneeled down in front of her son and gave him a sweet kiss. "Are you going to be good today sweetie?"

He pouted slightly. "I'm always good Mommy."

"I know…" she smiled, searching his gaze. "But be nice. You never know when you could be someone's special friend."

He stuck his lower lip out as he sighed. "…okay." He said, almost unwillingly as he looked off. Then he glanced back at her, meeting her identical gaze. "You're going to come back and get us, right?" he asked. "You'll be here the minute it's over?"

"Of course baby." She promised. "I'll be right at the gates when you get out."

"Okay." Kurogané said, giving her a small smile now that he was assured she would return. He hugged her, getting up on his tippy toes to kiss her cheek. "Bye Mommy, I love you."

"I love you too baby." She giggled, snuggling against him before releasing him. "Now go have fun my big, brave boy." Izayoi smiled, patting his butt to get him into the class.

He stuck his tongue out at her, still smiling as he went inside, though it vanished the moment he knew his mother could no longer see him. His jade eyes scanned the room, taking in all of the bright colors and laughing students, and he instantly knew he was going to hate it here. The room was complete and utter chaos, since everyone was running around and playing with the toys. Kurogané gave them an odd look, and instead chose to walk over to the tables at the other side of the room. Hanging from the back of every chair was a nametag, the same thing being taped to the table close to the center in front of where the chair was located. Finding where his name was, he felt a small sense of relief when he saw that they had placed him next to his sister. At least two weirdos wouldn't be on either side of him.

The ebony hair boy pulled his chair out and took a seat, waiting for class to start. "Kuro." Someone said from beside him. The dark haired boy glanced over to see his cousin Sakimori standing there. He sat down beside him and smiled, his dark locks the same Uchiha color, though the tips were highlighted with white. "You made it."

"Yeah." He sighed. "Zuzu took a while to get ready because she couldn't decide on what to wear."

Sakimori chuckled. "Kairi was so mad this morning cause' she didn't get to go to school with all of us."

"It's not _that_ exciting." Kurogané said.

"I'm kind of excited. It means we're that much closer to the academy." His grin widened and then pointed across the table. "And me and Ryousuke are right across from you."

His jade gaze slid across and he saw his cousin's names on the wood. "Great." He said, though he didn't sound excited.

"Don't sound too down about it Kuro." Sakimori nudged him happily.

"Alright class." The teacher called, looking around at the bustling kids. "Let's circle up and start off class with an exercise to get to know one another."

The young Uchiha sighed and got up, going over with his cousin and sitting down on the carpet with everybody else to make a circle. A blonde boy came up to them then, his forest green eyes alight with happiness. "Hey Kuro! I was wondering when you'd get here." He laughed, sitting down on the other side of his cousin.

Izumi squeezed between her cousin and her brother, smiling happily. "This is so cool. I love primary school." She told them all, practically bouncing in her seat.

The teacher clapped her hands once more, silencing everyone. "Now everyone, we have a special treat. We actually get to have _four_ Uchihas in class with us, how lucky are we?" she smiled, looking at the four adoringly, as did everyone else.

"Hi everybody!" Ryousuke waved, giving them all a bright smile.

The only female Uchiha blushed, placing her hands over her cheeks swaying as she giggled. "Oh my goodness! Already so many followers."

Sakimori had a huge blush on his cheeks as well, though he stared down at the ground, fumbling with his fingers. Kurogané just crossed his arms, staring out at all of the kids who were looking at him and his family and daring them to try and talk to him.

The teacher walked over and pat Kurogané's head. "Now, now. Turn that frown upside down, or may the fuzzies and bunnies tickle you to death." She giggled, walking around once more. "Alright, now let's start the name game with the Uchihas. You say your name and something you really like and then move to the next person by tapping their knee."

"My name is Uchiha Ryousuke." The blonde boy said with a smile, deciding to begin the game. "And I like making my mommy smile."

Kurogané's lips thinned. "Uchiha Kurogané." He said.

Their teacher blinked. "Kurogané, you need to say something that you like as well."

He just stared at her. "I don't really like much of anything." The ebony haired boy said simply.

Izumi poked him hard in the side, giving him a small glare. "I'll tell mommy on you."

He glared back at her, before returning his gaze to the class. "…dango."

Ms. Tamataki seemed confused. "Dango?"

"He likes dango." Izumi clarified for him, before smiling at the class. "My name is Uchiha Izumi. I love looking just like a princess and my daddy and coloring and playing with my cousins and-"

"Izumi," Ms. Tamataki laughed, "I think that's enough."

"Zuzu is also Kuro's twin!" Ryousuke announced excitedly, wanting them all to know. "She's the younger one."

She nodded, leaning against her brother. Sakimori smiled at them before facing forward, his blush returning to his face as he realized everyone was looking at him. "Um…uh…" he stammered, only growing more nervous. "M-my name's U-Uchiha S-Sakimori…" he fell silent, his eyes widening. "I like reading." He squeaked out, looking down in embarrassment as he breathed out in relief now that it was over.

Ms. Tamataki smiled at them and clasping her hands together and looking at her other students. "Alright, now who's next?" she asked.

Kurogané held in a sigh as the other kids took their turns and said their names and what they liked. He didn't really pay them much attention, mostly because he didn't care. So instead, he decided to pass the time by thinking about when his mother would come and get them. Maybe if he acted happy enough to see her she would buy him some dango. Because now that he'd said he liked it, he really wanted some.

A soft voice reached his ears then and he perked up, his pale gaze moving across the circle to one of the girls in his class. She had short black hair, though her bangs were long and framed her face perfectly, with dark emerald green eyes. "My name's Tanaka Viletta…" she paused for a moment as she tried to think. "Um…" she seemed a bit nervous, because she didn't know what to say, until a small pink came to her cheeks. "I like dango too…" she said softly.

He blinked, looking upon her with interest. So he wasn't the only one who didn't know what he liked, and had gone with dango? Not to mention she spoke rather softly, meaning she didn't usually speak. They finished out with the rest of the class then, the entire activity taking much longer than Kurogané would have liked. But he didn't mind, because he just continued to stare at the Viletta girl. And when they were all done, their teacher clapped her hands. "Okay kids, now go and find your names at your desks and we'll begin our coloring activity."

"Yay!" Ryousuke hopped up, practically bouncing over to his chair. "I love coloring! Coloring is the best!" he smiled.

Everyone got up and hustled around, trying to find their names and then sitting down at their seat. Kurogané was the first in his, since he avoided talking to anyone and sighed, not looking forward to the rest of this afternoon. Until the girl named Viletta sat down wordlessly at the other end of the table he was at. Once everyone was seated their teacher passed out the boxes of crayons, placing two at each table for the kids to share. Ryousuke immediately grabbed one of the boxes, opening it up and pulling out the ones he wanted to use first.

"Ryousuke! You're taking all the pretty colors!" Izumi shrieked, trying to pry the box away from him from across the table.

"You can have them when I'm done Zuzu!" he said, yanking the box away from her. "I'm making a picture for my mommy!"

"Well I'm making a picture for my daddy!" she snapped back, yanking them towards her. "And he's _way _more important than your mommy!"

The blonde gasped. "He is not! You take that back you butthead!" he shouted, now using both hands and snatching it from her grasp. He quickly pulled out the last few colors he wanted before sliding it over to her. "There, you can use those, and when I am done with mine, I will give them to you." he said, scooping his small collection of crayons towards him to keep them from her.

Izumi's jaw dropped and before Ms. Tamataki could get over to them she lunged over the table with a battle cry and tackled her cousin to the floor, before they started fighting. "Children, please!" the teacher cried out, running over to them with wide eyes.

But they didn't stop, ignoring their teacher as they wrestled one another. Kurogané sighed, standing from his seat. "Zuzu, I'm going to tell dad you're not acting like a lady." He threatened. "And Ryou, I'll tell Aunt Talia you weren't sharing."

This made the two stop and look up at him with wide eyes. "What?" Ryousuke pouted. "But she started it!"

Izumi was off of her cousin in an instant, grabbing the colors she wanted that he had stolen before taking her seat once more. Sakimori just blinked, looking back down at Ryousuke. "Hey." He whined, getting up. "I was using those."

"You can only use one color at a time anyways stupid. Let her have them." Kurogané said with a tone of finality as he took his seat. The blonde stuck his lower lip out as he sat back down as well, but he didn't argue with his cousin.

"You guys are so childish." Sakimori sighed, shaking his head.

Kurogané nodded in agreement, before looking down at his paper and trying to think of what to draw. He didn't really want to color, but he didn't want his teacher to get all nosy and in his business about it. Suddenly a red crayon was shoved into his line of sight. "Here Kuro! You can use this one!" Ryousuke smiled, his earlier upset completely forgotten.

He looked up at the blonde boy. "I don't want that color." He said blankly. "I want the black one."

Ryousuke gasped. "But that's such a sad color! You need a happy one! Right Zuzu?" he asked, looking to Izumi, who was busy coloring what was sure to be a masterpiece.

"Black's boring." She nodded, though she didn't look up from her work.

"Well that's the color I want." the ebony haired boy said.

"No! You need to use a happy color!" his cousin said, grabbing the black crayon from the box so he couldn't get to it.

Kurogané's gaze narrowed. "Give. Me. The. Black." He said lowly.

Ryousuke shook his head fervently, clutching the black and holding it close to him. "No." he said once again.

"Then I want they gray one." He said, rising to reach for said color. But before he could get to the box it was pulled out of his reach. He glared up at Ryousuke. "Ryou…" he said warningly.

"Use a happy color Kuro! After that you can have the black and the gray." Ryousuke said with a nod.

Kurogané's hand clenched into a fist, but before he could lunge at his cousin from across the table, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He looked back, seeing Viletta, who was looking off with a small blush and holding out a black and a grey crayon for him. He blinked in surprise, before reaching out and taking the crayons from her. "Thank you." he said, remembering his manners.

She nodded and met his gaze for only a moment before returning to her seat and continuing to color. He sat down as well, though his eyes remained on her. She glanced up at him, and when they locked gazes, she blushed and quickly looked back down. Kurogané smiled slightly, finally returning his attention to his paper. He began to draw then, glancing over at the ebony haired girl every once in a while to see if she was looking at him again.

When he finished using the colors, he got up and walked over to her. "Here." He said, holding them out to her.

Viletta looked up at him with wide green depths. "Oh…um…you can keep them if you want."

He shook his head. "You might need them."

She took them back and placed them back in front of her, covering her drawing with her hands so that he couldn't see. But this only made him curious as to what she was drawing. So he leaned over, closer to her face. "Can I see?" he asked, looking back up at her.

The dark haired girl shook her head, a small blush coming to her cheeks. "It's not done…"

"Then when you finish can I see?" Kurogané questioned inquisitively.

"Um…" she met his gaze once more. "Maybe?" she smiled slightly.

He nodded. "Okay." He said, going back over to his seat to finish his own drawing.

Ms. Tamataki walked around, marveling at the drawings of her students as they continued class with a few more coloring activities. Finally it was free time, for all the children to play with one another and do whatever they pleased until their parents came to pick them up. Izumi looked around, deciding what she wanted to do. She looked over and saw the girl her brother had been talking to over in the corner with the blocks, trying to build a tower. She looked over to her brother and nudged him. "What are you going to do Kuro? I think me and Ryou are going to go finger paint."

"I dunno." He shrugged, glancing over and seeing Sakimori over at the bookshelves. "I might go read with Sakimori, or just sit and wait for mom to get here."

Izumi sighed and moved behind her brother, grabbing his head and making him look over to Viletta. "Don't you want to go play with your new friend?"

Kurogané blinked. "She's not my friend." He tried to look back at his sister. "She just let me borrow some crayons."

The dark haired girl sighed, releasing him. "Well she looks all lonely by herself." She pointed out. "Maybe you two should be friends? You seemed to like her and she gave you crayons."

He frowned, watching the girl named Viletta build her tower. She did look rather lonely, but maybe she wanted to be alone? He knew that was what he would want if he were off by himself. Then he sighed, remembering that not everyone enjoyed solitude the way he did for some strange reason. "You're not going to leave me alone till I go over there, are you?" he asked, meeting his sister's stormy gaze.

She gasped, though she looked guilty. "Now why on earth would I make you do something you didn't want to do?" Izumi asked, tapping her chin with a small smirk.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go." He said, before making his way over to the ebony haired girl. He sat down a bit of a ways away from her, making himself seem scarce as he thought of what he was about to do. He wasn't really the type of person to go over to someone and make conversation, and so he didn't really know what to do. Then he scooted towards her, slowly, and inch by inch when she wasn't looking, until he was next to her. "You want some help?"

Viletta screamed out, her hand smacking against her tower and collapsing. "What are you doing?" she demanded, still sounding as if she'd had the beejezus scared out of her.

Kurogané blinked. "Um…I wanted to know if I could build with you. Please."

"Oh." She scratched at her cheek, looking at her demolished blocks. "Do you…really want to?" she asked, glancing off with a small blush.

"…yeah." He admitted, coming to realize that he kind of did want to build with her.

"Alright." Viletta smiled, pulling out some more and pushing them towards him as she started working on her own.

The Uchiha took them, beginning to build something as well. They continued to do this, eventually combining their efforts and making one huge building. Soon parents began to arrive, so Kurogané and Viletta began to clean up their mess. When they finished, only a handful of kids had gone home, but Ms. Tamataki had made them gather in a circle to play a game. It wasn't all that fun, mostly they were just tossing a ball to one another and when they caught it they had to say the name of something that made them happy. Hence why Kurogané hated it.

One of the teacher helpers came to the door and cleared his throat, "Uchiha Kurogané and Izumi." He announced.

A hint of a smile came to Kurogané's face. Finally, his mother was here. He stood, about to run off to the door, before he glanced to Viletta, who had been sitting next to him. "Um…bye." He said softly.

"Bye." She smiled timidly, glancing off as she pulled out a neatly folded paper and offered it up to him. "Here you go…"

He blinked, taking it from her and unfolding it, revealing a drawing of the two of them sitting together and eating dango. It was all done in black, gray, and white, except for their eyes, which were their natural shades of green. He smiled genuinely, lowering the paper and looking down at her. "Thank you." he said, the expression on his face stunning his relatives, and even Izumi, since it was a rare sight indeed.

"You're welcome." She smiled back happily.

Kurogané nodded, folding it back up and putting it in his pocket before going over to the teacher helper so that he could leave. Once Izumi was there they were led away from the classroom and down the hall to the front area. Upon seeing Izayoi standing there waiting for them, he broke away from the aid and ran to his mother, wrapping his arms around her legs. "You finally came." He said, holding her tightly.

"Of course I did sweetie." The older woman giggled, picking up her son and propping him on her hip.

"Mommy!" Izumi cheered, running towards them and clinging to her side.

"Did you two enjoy your first day of school?" Izayoi asked her children, though she mostly focused on Kurogané.

"I don't like our teacher." He said, laying his head on her shoulder. "She treated me like a baby, and makes us play dumb games."

The elder Uchiha blinked, taking Izumi's hand as they began to walk home. "But sweetie…technically to your teacher you are a baby."

He frowned. "Well she doesn't have to pat my head the way she did. She invaded my bubble."

"Little Kurogané, you must accept your bubble will be invaded sometimes. You must learn to be able to handle it." Izayoi smiled, kissing his cheek. "Did you make any new friends?"

"…kinda." He told her, wrapping his arms around her neck. "This girl shared her crayons with me, and we made a castle out of blocks, and then she gave me her picture that she made."

The dark haired woman seemed surprised, looking down at him. "Really?" she whispered, a smile creeping up her face. "You made a friend."

He met her identical jade gaze. "I guess so."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so glad. I hope you keep her as a good friend." She snuggled him, as they finally arrived at the Uchiha District and their home. "Guess who got back while you two were in school?" she snickered.

Izumi gasped and ran into the house. "Daddy!" she cried out, seeing him in the living room. She tackled him down as he stood and hugged him tightly.

Kai laughed. "Hello my princess!" he smiled, wrapping his arms around her and sitting up. He was a handsome man, with stormy grey eyes like his daughter's, and white hair, with black spikes underneath them. He kissed her cheek. "How was your first day of school? Did you have fun?"

"It was _awesome_! I punched Ryousuke in the face!" she smiled.

"What for?" he blinked.

She sat up and huffed. "He took all the crayons and was being a butt!"

Izayoi walked back in, shaking her head. "Well Talia's going to have a fit about this."

Kai nodded in agreement. "That she will. She's even more protective of him that your mother is of Hayate." He said, his gaze moving to his son, who was still in his wife's arms. "And how was your day Kurogané?"

"Fine." The ebony haired boy said, looking over at him.

"Aw." The Uchiha mother giggled. "Kuro, aren't you happy daddy is back safely?"

The little boy huffed, before burying his face in his mother's long ebony hair. "I knew he'd be fine. He always is." He argued.

Kai pouted. "That hurts Kuro. Why can't you ever be excited the way Izumi is?" he whined, snuggling his daughter closer.

"Kuro made a friend today daddy. She's a pretty girl," Izumi beamed, before it faltered. "Not as pretty as me of course, but she is pretty." She giggled.

He smiled down at her. "Of course sweetheart, no other little girl is as pretty as you." he nuzzled his nose against hers, making her laugh. He kissed her on the forehead, before looking over at Izayoi and Kurogané. "So who's your new friend Kuro? Are we ever going to get to meet her?"

"No." the answer was muffled, as he still had his head hidden in his mother's neck and hair.

"Aw how come?" Izayoi pouted. "I can't schedule a play date or anything?"

There was silence for a minute, before Kurogané answered. "I don't know…if I like her enough to see her outside of school yet."

"That's mean Kuro." Izumi stuck her tongue out at him before running off to her room.

He didn't even look at his sister. "Can I go practice kunai throwing with the new set grandfather got me?" he asked, sitting up and looking at his mother.

"Of course sweetie, just be careful and don't break any windows." She smiled, setting him down and watching him run off.

Once their children were gone Kai sighed as he got up from the floor. "Sometimes I just don't understand that boy." He said. "I mean, even Sanosuke was happy when he made a friend in Talia, wasn't he?"

All Izayoi could do was shrug. "He's a weird boy."

"Well I wish he'd act happy to see me." the pale haired man pouted, going over to his wife and wrapping his arms around her. "If Izumi wasn't so happy I don't know what I'd do."

"I think you'd be okay." She smiled, smoothing her hands up his chest and wrapping them around his neck. She leaned closer, pressing her front against his as she licked the shell of his ear. "After all, you have yet to see how excited I am that you're home." Izayoi murmured into his earlobe before nibbling on his neck just below his ear.

He shivered, smoothing his hands down to her rear, one of them sliding between her cheeks and rubbing her. "Well I can feel it." he smirked. "But I'd still like to see it."

"Then why don't we go unpack your _things_ and spend some quality time together before it's time to feed the children."

"I do love the way you think." Kai kissed her. "Almost as much as I love you."

Izayoi giggled as he scooped her up into his arms and carried her off to their room to enjoy each other's company after the time away from another.


	2. Deviation

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Two_

-Deviation-

Kurogané sat in his seat, finishing up his earlier picture from art time as everyone else played freeze dance with the teacher as they waited for their parents to come and pick them up. Viletta had already gone home with her mom and little sister, and so he had gone off to be by himself. Normally Ms. Tamataki would make him play with everyone, but he'd explained to her that if it was not a grade, and he wasn't breaking the rules, he should be allowed to do whatever he wanted, and the same with Viletta. And so she let him and the ebony haired girl do whatever they wanted together.

Surprisingly enough, he really enjoyed the time he spent with her. She didn't talk much, which was nice, and she understood him perfectly. Most of the time when they played, they were quiet, silent communication being all they needed. It was the only thing about school that he looked forward to, the only time he ever had any fun. And then, when the day was over and his mother came to get him and Izumi, he would tell her all about what he and Viletta did, relishing in the attention and smiles she gave him.

Today he was especially excited for her to come. Because Viletta had asked him if he wanted to go over to her house and play this weekend. He'd told her he needed to ask, of course, but he knew the answer would be a yes. He looked up then when one of the teacher helpers came to the door. "Uchiha Sakimori, Kurogané, and Izumi." He said.

Kurogané put the crayon he was using away and grabbed his picture, folding it up and shoving it in his pocket as he walked over to the door. Once the three Uchihas were there, they were taken up to the front to their parents. A small smile began to make its way to his face when he saw his Uncle Noriaki was the one to come and get his cousin, but it quickly fell when he realized instead of his mother being the one to get him, it was his father.

"Hey kids!" Kai smiled, lowering a bit and opening his arms to catch his daughter, who had broken into a run towards him.

"Daddy!" Izumi smiled brightly, hugging him around the neck as he lifted her.

"Hello my princess." He laughed, kissing her cheek.

Kurogané frowned and crossed his arms. "Why are you here?" he demanded. "Mom is the one who picks us up."

Kai's grey gaze slid over to his son. "She was called away on a short mission, and should be back tomorrow. So I came to get you."

"Yay!" Izumi giggled. "I love when you pick us up daddy!"

Sakimori stopped before his father, smiling tentatively. "Hello daddy."

Noriaki glanced down at his boy, placing his hand on his head. "How was school Mori? Did you speak up like Hikari told you to?"

The Uchiha boy nodded, holding up three fingers. "Three times. Right Kuro?" he looked over to his cousin, awaiting confirmation.

Kurogané looked up at his uncle. "He did." He said.

"Mommy will be so happy!" Kairi smiled from her perch on her father's side. She looked almost exactly like her mother, having inherited the same vibrant purple eyes as Sakimori did. The only thing she didn't receive from the white haired woman was her pale coloring, since she had midnight black hair like her father that hung almost to her shoulders.

Sakimori blushed and looked off, only making Noriaki sigh. "Now, now Mori. No need to get all embarrassed. She's just your sister." He turned and headed off, snapping his fingers for the boy to follow, which he did.

Kai followed as well, with Kurogané and Sakimori following behind them. Kairi looked at Noriaki. "Daddy, can we please go get some ice cream or something?" she asked. "My tummy is empty."

"We're going out to eat sugar muffin, no need to worry. And I will not have ice cream sitting alone in your stomach to make you sick and queasy." He explained, leading the group.

She gasped in delight. "Can we get a dessert?"

Kai chuckled. "Of course we're going to get a dessert. That's one of the best parts of the meal, right princess?" he looked at Izumi.

"Right Daddy! The best part!" the girl beamed, taking her father's hand as he set her down so she could walk with him.

Kurogané rolled his eyes as they came upon a restaurant. They entered, quickly being taken to a table because of who they were. And it was a well known fact that Uchiha Noriaki did not like to be kept waiting for anything. Noriaki sat on one side of the booth, Kairi on his left and Sakimori on his right. On the other side was Kai, Izumi on his right and Kurogané on his left. "So kids, how was school?" Kai asked.

"It was okay." Sakimori sighed, reaching for a breadstick. "Ryousuke stole my glitter and it made me sad…" the boy sniffed. Noriaki rolled his eyes, though it went unnoticed by his son as he hit his palm to his forehead.

Izumi bubbled up. "I _loved_ it daddy, I'm the best drawer in class."

"Are not." Kurogané muttered, taking a breadstick as well. "Viletta is."

The Uchiha girl gasped, glaring past her father at him. "She is _not_!"

"Is so." He argued. "You're not the best at everything Zuzu, so don't act like it."

"I can't help it if it's true Kuro. And how can someone _that_ weird be better than me at something?" she huffed.

He glared at her. "She is not weird!" he shouted, drawing people's attention to the group.

Kai held up his hands. "Now, now kids, knock it off." he said, looking at his son. "Kuro, is this Viletta girl that one you became friends with?" he asked.

Kurogané just faced forward and took a bite out of his breadstick instead of answering. Noriaki snickered, looking over his nephew. "Oh, ho. Seems we have the first girlfriend of the lot."

"She's just a friend." Kurogané said, looking across the table at his uncle.

"You know, that's _exactly_ what Sanosuke said concerning little blonde Talia." The Uchiha smirked deviously, giving his nephew a wink.

Kairi giggled. "Kuro and Viletta, sitting in a tree! G." she blinked, her brow furrowing as she realized the beat was wrong. She looked up at her father then. "Did I spell that wrong Daddy?"

"Yes sweetie." Noriaki shook his head. "Only two S's."

"Oh." She blinked, before smiling. " G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes b-" she stopped when Kurogané's half-eaten breadstick hit her in the face. "Hey!" she pouted.

Sakimori frowned, shaking his head. "That is so un-gentleman-like Kurogané."

He just smirked. "Never said I was a gentleman."

"Kuro, apologize to your cousin." Kai ordered, just as their waitress came to take their drink orders, when she left, the pale haired man looked down at his son expectantly.

"No." he said simply, going for another breadstick since he hadn't gotten to finish his own.

Noriaki sighed. "Well your mother is sure going to be disappointed to hear you're a brute like your Uncle Noriaki." He said, looking off and shaking his head. "I know she was so proud of how polite you were."

Kurogané frowned, glancing up at his uncle before looking at his cousin. "Sorry." He said, grabbing a breadstick.

Kairi just gave him a haughty look. "Say it like you mean it Kuro, my feelings are still hurt." She told him, setting the breadstick he had thrown at her on the table.

He huffed. "I'm sorry for throwing a breadstick at your face." he elaborated, making her smile in satisfaction.

Kai's brow furrowed. "Now why couldn't you do that when I told you?"

"Cause' I don't care what you say." The boy replied, taking a bite.

"Stop being mean to daddy." Izumi growled at her brother.

He ignored his sister, deciding to keep eating his bead. Kai sighed and looked to his nephew. "So Sakimori, have you made any friends at school?"

"Just a couple. Tanya and Jin." He smiled to his uncle as their drinks and food were brought out to them.

Izumi pulled her own meal closer to her, eating her french fries and dipping them in the sauce. "And what did you do today Kairi?" the pale haired man asked, pulling the top off his sandwich to spread some ketchup on it.

The little girl beamed. "Daddy and I had a special day!" she said. "We had breakfast, and then we made noodle art, and played pretend, and hide and seek, and then we did a puzzle! A really big one with one hundred pieces!" she threw her hands up in the air, before picking up a chicken tender and dipping it in some ranch. "It was lots of fun, right Daddy?" she looked up at him as she took a bite.

"Of course little flower. So much fun." He smiled, kissing the top of her head as he lifted his own burger and ripped into the meat.

Kai smiled. "And Kuro, how was your day?" he asked, beginning to eat his sandwich.

"Fine." The boy replied, eating his macaroni and cheese.

Kai sighed, deciding to give up as they continued their meal. It went pretty smoothly, and after they had their dessert and paid, the group was headed back to the Uchiha District. Once they reached the split, Noriaki waved to his brother-in-law before ushering his two kids towards their home.

When Kai and his children reached their home, he looked down at them. "So kids, I was thinking we could play a game before it's your bedtime." He suggested as they entered.

"I have something I need to finish before bedtime." Kurogané said. Not to mention he didn't want to spend more time with his father than absolutely necessary. "It's important."

He blinked. "Oh. Well what do you say Izumi? Care to play some cards with me?" he asked, smiling at the ebony haired girl.

"Naw." She smiled up at her dad. "I have to take a bath, but you can read to me for bedtime."

"Alright sweetie. Just come and get me when you're done." He lowered and kissed her forehead before watching her skip off. When he straightened, he realized that Kurogané had already left. Sighing, he turned to go into the library and find a book to occupy his time with as he waited.

Back in his room, Kurogané pulled out his picture from earlier and spread it out on his bedroom floor, looking at it. He frowned, crumpling it up and tossing it to the side. He wished he could color as well as Izumi could. For days he'd been trying to draw a picture for Viletta like the one she had given him, but they never turned out good enough. He glanced at said picture, which was sitting in a frame on his shelf. His mother had suggested he put it somewhere safe, and so he'd asked for a frame, thinking the glass would be the best way to protect such a precious gift.

He sighed, going over to his desk and taking out his box of crayons and some blank paper to try and start again. He would just continue to make pictures until he did one that he thought she would like. No matter how long it took. Because he was determined to be as good of a friend to her as she was to him.

The young Uchiha stayed up way into the night, not going to bed until after his father had finished reading to Izumi. And even then, he'd gotten back up once he was sure the pale haired man was asleep, so that he could finish the picture. He'd finally made one that looked as nice as hers, and he planned on giving it to her tomorrow when he told her he could come over and play. Hopefully it would put a smile on her face.

And when Kurogané was done, he fell asleep at his desk, a picture of him and Viletta holding hands and being best friends lying beneath his cheek.


	3. Parent Meetings

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Three_

-Parent Meetings-

"He's such a fucking pansy ass weirdo." Noriaki scoffed as he lounged back in his chair as he and his other male relatives did the same around the room. He had some sake in his hand and took another drink. "There was this creepy caterpillar last night and as I'm about to step on it and kill it, he runs in screaming and saves the thing, carrying it outside to let it free while whispering to it."

"Wow." Kanamé blinked, looking over at his brother.

Kai shook his head. "Hikari ruined that poor boy." He said, taking a drink of his sake.

"And I thought Natsumi made Hayate into a pansy." Akito said. He was an older man, with spiky black hair and deep green eyes. "Nice to know it could have been worse."

The Anbu leader gave his father a sharp glare. "Well it probably doesn't help I told him to be the opposite of me." he sighed.

"Eh, maybe he'll grow out of it. You never know." The elder said.

Hayate pouted. Of all the males he appeared to be the youngest, and almost a mirror image of his father, eye color and all. "I'm not a pansy." He semi-whined.

"Yes you are." Sanosuke said. His features were more like their grandfather, Sasuke's, except for his deep green eyes, which he got from his father.

Akito glanced at him. "Compared to your siblings, you're a bit of a pansy Hayate." He said. "It just can't be helped."

Kai sighed. "I just wish Kurogané would hang out with me or something." He complained. "All he ever does is glare at me, say rude things and walk off. But if Izayoi is around he actually seems happy and talkative. By his standards anyways."

"Dude that kid fuckin' hates you." Noriaki laughed.

"He really does." Sanosuke smirked. "I mean, even a stranger can feel the hate radiating off of him."

The pale haired man frowned. "I just don't know what to do about him. He's so reclusive, the only time I ever see him playing is when Izumi begs him to keep her company."

"Maybe you should try going on a male bonding trip!" Hayate suggested with a smile. "I don't really know though, cause' I only have my little Chihiro, and she loves me!"

Kanamé nodded. "Same here. Shiori is a sweetheart."

"Ryousuke's better." Sanosuke said. "I mean, if you're only going to have one kid, at least have a boy. Sure, he's a little frilly cause' of Talia, but I'm teaching him how to cover that up so that he still appears manly."

Hideaki walked in from the kitchen then with another sake bottle. "Didn't he steal glitter from Izumi and also get beat up by her?" the brunette smirked, looking over at Sanosuke and chuckling.

"Oh yeah!" Noriaki burst out into laughter. "Little blonde twit."

"Not my fault he refuses to hit a girl!" Sanosuke huffed, finishing off his sake. "If he did, he could have beat her."

Kai smirked. "Not before Kuro kicked his ass for hurting her."

"It's true." Hideaki nodded. "That emo is one vicious little tyke."

"I don't think we should be encouraging violence." Kanamé spoke up, looking around.

Akito looked at his eldest son. "It's not encouraging so much as speculating on their abilities." He told him. "I'm just saying, your mother and I never went easy on any of you to ensure your success and survival in this world."

Noriaki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well we're also not psychopaths like you two are."

"Says the psychopath." Sanosuke grumbled.

The elder Uchiha was up in a second, glaring at his brother and daring him to say it again. "I beg your pardon ya emo freak?"

Sanosuke glanced up at him, sipping at his beverage. "You have my pardon, you _psycho_ sex addict." He replied, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a small smirk.

"Now guys, let's not fight." Hayate said, holding his hands up to try and placate his older brothers.

Noriaki made a small sign with his hand and blew a small, but hot ember at Sanosuke and burning his thumb, causing him to drop his sake. "Fuck you!" Sanosuke cursed, his sand shooting out and knocking his brother back into his chair.

"Hey!" Akito shouted, standing as he gave them all a hard look. "Knock it off you two. You're going to waste all the good sake."

Hideaki sighed and sipped his own sake. "A little friendly tussle between brothers is what the boys need, they should learn from their dads. Tadaaki's a little weirdo cause' he's always hyper and itching for a fight, but Sakimori is too pansy and Ryousuke is too wrapped up in Talia. Not to mention Kurogané's new fascination with this girl at his school."

"God, these little boys are so freaking weird." Kai said with a shake of his head.

They all nodded together as they sipped more sake. "I just hope they don't turn out like Hayate." Noriaki sighed, shaking his head. The youngest Uchiha male growled slightly, crossing his arms.

"You're all just rude is what you are. I sure hope Chitose is having a much better time with the ladies." He huffed.

* * *

"Ryousuke did the cutest thing the other day." Talia giggled, placing her hand to her cheek as she thought of her son. "He went and picked me flowers and tried to make a bouquet all by himself. He said that when they start to wilt, he will go get more to show me how his love for me will always blossom!"

"That's adorable!" Hikari smiled. She was a voluptuous woman, with white hair that went down to her shoulders and bright violet eyes. "It's like the other day, Sakimori said he always wants to make me smile, because it makes him happy when he makes me happy."

Natsumi smiled at all the girls in her living room, seeming to soak in the time with her daughter and daughters-in- law. "Sounds like Hayate." She mused.

Izayoi giggled and nodded. "Kurogané is so cute. I think he likes a girl. He always plays with her and he placed the picture she drew for him in a picture frame."

"Nice to know he's not being as emo as he usually is." Ami spoke up, flipping her long auburn hair over her shoulder, her teal eyes taking in the room. "What's her name, do you know?"

"Viletta." The Uchiha female smiled happily. "He went over for a play date just last weekend."

"Have you met her yet?" Vitani asked, her aquamarine gaze inquisitive.

Izayoi chuckled. "Only for like a minute. She's not very talkative, she's a lot like Kurogané. But she's very sweet."

"No girl is sweet." Natsumi assured.

Hikari nodded in agreement. "She's right on that one. I mean, Noriaki just thinks Kairi is the epitome of an angel, but I know what goes on in that little mind of hers. And she knows it too."

"Knows what?" Chitose blinked.

"That I know she's really a little deviant, playing on her daddy's love for her to get what she wants. Every girl does it." the pale haired woman explained.

"Yup." Vitani said. "And it doesn't help that they make it so easy to do it either. It like…encourages that behavior."

Natsumi scoffed, waving off the threat. "Izayoi never got away with that."

The dark haired woman smirked, trying not to laugh. "Of course I didn't Mommy."

Ami nearly mirrored her cousin's expression. "Well I suppose it doesn't help that we practically let our sons get away with murder." She said. "I mean, I punish Tadaaki if he does something wrong, but it's so hard sometimes when he looks up at me with those wide eyes and tells me he loves me. I can only imagine how hard it was for you Aunt Natty, since you had four of them."

Izayoi scoffed. "Oh, no. She was a hard ass when it really came down to it. I honestly don't know how she didn't crack under the gaze."

The pink haired woman nodded, smirking deviously. "It was much easier because I could turn it around on them with those wide eyes."

"Of course." Talia whispered in awe.

"That is pure gold." Ami said.

Hikari blinked. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" she asked herself. "Not that Sakimori ever does anything bad, but…man, when he does, it's like stabbing myself in the heart to have to punish him."

"It's quite simple really. You get all wounded looking and ask them why they don't trust your judgment and if they loved you so much, they would know that you knew best and only wanted to be a good parent. Works _every_ time." Natsumi smirked, leaning back and relishing in her fond memories.

Vitani gave the pink haired woman a curious glance. "Does it still work even to this day?" she wondered.

"_Every_ single time." She repeated, picking up a strawberry from their fruit snacks and biting into it.

"You can do something similar to your husbands." Ami said. "I do it to Hideaki every once in a while when he does something stupid. It makes him feel bad, and then he finds a way to make it up to me the next day." She smiled.

"Really?" Chitose breathed out, her eyes wide as she sipped her tea. "I've never had any problems like that with Hayate or Chihiro."

Hikari looked at the brunette. "That's because the three of you live in a perfect little world full of love, flowers, and sunshine, where nothing goes wrong ever." She said.

"What's wrong with that?" the brunette huffed.

"Nothing's wrong with it Chitose." Vitani said. "It's just not a world that everybody else lives in."

Izayoi rolled her eyes and waved them all off. "Look, the point is, we've got our perfect babies." She smiled then. "I mean, they can only get cuter right? And more devoted."

Natsumi smirked, glancing off as she enjoyed another strawberry. "Oh you've no idea little Iza…" she mumbled under her breath. "You've no idea."


	4. Defender

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Four_

-Defender-

_**Three years later…**_

"You're in a lot of trouble young man." A brown haired jounin said, taking a seat across from the eight year old Uchiha in his office. He placed his hands on his desk and raised a brow. "Just what did you think you were doing anyways?"

Kurogané just sat there and stared at the man, not saying a word. He was tall for his age, his unruly hair even longer than it used to be, and his jade eyes even more unreadable. The Academy administrator smirked. "Oh, nothing to say? Just wait until your mother gets here. I bet you'll have something to say then."

The ebony haired boy remained silent, his only action being the slow, deliberate crossing of his arms. The man blinked, the silence of the boy finally making him uncomfortable. Just what was with this kid anyways? Normally when he pulled the parent card kids got all squirmy and antsy, and told him the whole story. "It would really help your case if you told me your side of the story you know." He said, trying one more tactic. "Otherwise you could be suspended for a few days for your violent behavior."

Kurogané's gaze narrowed slightly, hiding his smirk when he saw the overseer of the ninja Academy try not to squirm under his gaze. His face went blank then, as the door opened and the secretary stuck her head in. "Mr. Kurosaki, Izayoi-sama is here."

"Good!" the brunette man perked up, appearing relieved as he stood. "Send her in."

She nodded, opening the door wider and allowing the ebony haired woman entrance. Mr. Kurosaki smiled. "Izayoi-sama, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come down here." He said.

"What exactly is wrong?" the Uchiha quipped, setting her hands on her hips, which was never a good sign. "I was in the middle of a very important counseling for the Anbu tacticians."

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Well, I have called you here on a matter concerning your son." He said, gesturing to the boy who had slumped down in his seat slightly at his mother's entrance.

Izayoi looked back at him, her gaze turning into a small glare. "And what is the matter?" she demanded, not taking her eyes off of him.

"Apparently, Kurogané has been acting violently towards some of the older children in the school. Mostly it's just verbal, and has been broken up by a teacher before it could escalate into anything more. But today he attacked a boy and broke his nose. Some of the witnesses even said that he activated his sharingan." The administrator told her.

"You did _what_?!" Izayoi exploded, glaring her son down with her own crimson gaze. "What have I told you about threatening people with your sharingan?" she snapped, stalking up on him so she was right in front of him.

Kurogané's eyes widened, an expression finally coming to his face at the sight of the angry woman. The administrator smirked in triumph. "They keep picking on Viletta." He said softly by way of explanation. "And today I saw him pull on her hair, and when she tried to fight back, he pushed her to the ground. So I took necessary measures to make an example out of him and keep them from bothering her ever again. I didn't put them in a genjutsu mommy, I swear!" he sat up, his jade eyes wide in his innocence. "My sharingan just activated cause' I was so mad!"

Izayoi blinked, backing away from him a bit as she tapped her cheek with her finger. "You…protected her? And defended her honor?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Her eyes twisted back into jade and she smiled, taking him in a tight hug. "Oh sweetie! That's so adorable!"

The administrator cleared his throat. "Um…Izayoi-sama…we cannot condone fighting on school property." He reminded her. "No matter what the reason."

The Uchiha blinked, looking over at the teacher as her and Kurogané stared at him, since their faces were pressed against each other. "Oh right." she laughed, pulling him away and smiling at her son. "Bad Kurogané." She scolded, though it was only half heartedly.

Kurogané's brow furrowed slightly, and he glanced at the jounin, a small smirk coming to his face in triumph, since he knew he wasn't going to be punished by her for his good deed. The man huffed. "Izayoi-sama, Academy policy requires that we suspend him from school for at least three days for causing a fight. Now, I don't want to have to go to such measures, so I am recommending that Kurogané write a formal apology to the parents of the boy he harmed, and stay after school for the rest of the week to help the teachers with whatever they need."

"I refuse to apologize to that Neanderthal." Kurogané said, crossing his arms. "Besides, I'm not sorry for what I did, so it would just be a lie."

"Be quiet Kurogané." Izayoi ordered, setting him down and closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes once more, they were a swirling red sharingan. She glanced at the jounin, who fell silent and slumped back in his chair as his vision clouded over. The dark haired woman smirked when her sharingan twisted back into her jade depths and Mr. Kurosaki looked around in confusion.

"Wh…what's going on?"

Izayoi smiled sweetly, taking Kurogané's hand. "Oh thank you Mr. Kurosaki, I'm glad Kurogané could break up that fight for you with those ruffians who were making fun of that poor Viletta girl."

The brunette blinked, looking from the ebony haired woman to her son, and then back up at her. "He did?" he asked, before it all seemed to come back to him, and he smiled. "Oh right! Good work Kurogané. You may leave now. Thank you for your time Izayoi-sama." He said, walking around his desk and opening his office door for them. "I hope the rest of your day goes well."

"Thank you sir." She bowed her head, leading her son off as they left the building.

When they were clear, Kurogané smirked and looked up at his mother. "That's cheating mommy." He said, though he was pleased with the results of the meeting.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Izayoi smiled, bringing him closer as they started their way home, since Kai had gotten Izumi.

He just wrapped his arms around her waist, making her halt. "Thank you mommy." He said, smiling up at her.

Izayoi looked down at her son and placed her hand on his head. "Of course sweetheart."

His smile widened, and he hugged her tightly before releasing her, taking her hand and resuming their walk to their home. He paused then, and looked back up at her. "Do you think…we could stop by Viletta's house really quickly so that I can make sure she's okay?"

"Sure thing. Do you want to get her some flowers from the shop?"

He blinked, before his smile returned. "Yeah. That'll make her feel better, don't you think?" he asked.

"Of course it will. Girls love flowers. I know she will be so happy." Izayoi giggled, already hearing wedding bells.

They went by the flower shop, and Kurogané picked out an entire bouquet for his friend, since he wanted her to be super happy. After they had paid, they headed over to the ebony haired girl's house. When they reached it, Kurogané turned to his mother. "Can you try not to say anything embarrassing?" he asked. "Cause' sometimes you get all giggly and weird…"

Izayoi gasped, as if the thought were preposterous. "What am I supposed to do? Stay outside?" she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Only if you can't control yourself." Kurogané said, giving her a stern look. "Promise you won't be weird."

"I can make no such promises." The Uchiha woman grumbled, looking off as she shooed him in. "Just go and make sure she's okay."

He nodded, turning and going up to her doorstep. He rang the bell, hiding the flowers behind his back as he waited for someone to answer. When the door did open, it was Viletta's mother and she smiled at the sight. "Well hello there little Kurogané. How are you doing today? You here to see Viletta?"

"Yes Mrs. Tanaka." He said politely. "Is it okay if I talk to her really quickly?"

The woman nodded, stepping aside and closing the door behind him. "She's in her room. Would you like something to drink sweetie?" the dark haired woman asked, finally seeing the flowers.

Kurogané shook his head. "No thank you, I can't stay long." He said, running off down the hall to Viletta's room. He opened her door, walking in and seeing her sitting on her bed. He went over and stopped next to her bed, setting the bouquet on the mattress next to her. "These are for you." he said, keeping his jade gaze on her face and trying to hide his nervousness, since this was the first time he'd ever given a girl flowers before.

The dark haired girl blinked, all previous sadness gone from her gaze, replaced with confusion as she stared at the flowers. She reached over and picked them up, a small smile coming to her face. "They're really pretty." She said softly, finally looking at him and smiling happily.

He returned her smile a bit hesitantly, before hopping up on the bed next to her. "I came to make sure you were okay." He told her, searching her face. "You didn't get bruised or anything did you?"

"Just a little one…" she said, showing him her arm, where a small yellowish bruise shown.

The young Uchiha reached out and held her arm, frowning as he looked closer at it. "I should've broken more than his nose." He said, mostly to himself.

"Kuro…" she smiled at him, placing her free hand on his head. "It's really okay. I can't help that my weirdness bothers people."

He met her darker gaze with his own. "You're not weird, don't listen to what those people say." He said firmly. "You're special Viletta, always remember that."

She stared at him, her expression blank before she smiled again. "Special…" she repeated.

"Yes, special." Kurogané nodded, before lifting her arm and kissing over her bruise, not at all embarrassed by his actions. "There. My mom says kisses make hurts feel better, so it should go away soon." He smiled up at her, the action nearly dazzling in its beauty.

Viletta laughed, her mood soaring. "Is that so? Then next time I hope to hurt my lips." She giggled.

He blinked, his smile falling slightly to be replaced with honest confusion. "How come?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

The dark haired girl couldn't stop her giggling as she took her flowers and got off, making him back up so she was standing in front of him. "Well if you can't figure that out, you're not as smart as I thought you were." She said, tapping his chest with her hand.

He pouted, sticking his lower lip out slightly. "Why can't you just tell me?" he asked, his whine barely hidden in his tone. He thought about it then, and his eyes widened as a small blush came to his cheeks. "You mean-"

The door to the ebony haired girl's room opened then, and in skipped a little girl with light green hair and brown eyes the shade of hazelnut. "Kuro!" she squealed, running over and hugging the startled boy quickly. "Mommy said you were here! And you brought Lettie flowers! Can I see? Can I? Can I? Can I?" she asked, clapping her hands as she bounced in place.

Viletta growled lowly, glaring at her younger sister. "No Valencia! They're mine and you'll crush them!"

Valencia gasped, her excited actions halting as she frowned. "Will not! I just wanna look at 'em!"

"That's what you _always_ say. Besides, you just interrupted me and Kurogané in a very important moment!" she huffed, keeping the flowers high and out of reach.

"Oh come on!" the younger girl tried to jump for the flowers, but wasn't nearly tall enough to reach them. "Don't be so mean Lettie!"

Kurogané sighed and got off the bed, his face carefully blank as it usually was. "I'm gonna get going." He said, scooting around the two girls. "My mom is waiting for me outside. I just wanted to give you your flowers and make sure you were okay."

Viletta blinked, following after him. "You're really leaving?" she frowned.

He stopped and looked at her. "If I keep her waiting too long she'll come in." he said. "And get all weird and embarrassing." He shrugged.

"Oh…" she sighed. "Okay." She followed him out with Valencia close behind, eyeing the flowers. Viletta opened the door for him and tried to seem happier, though she was sad he was going. "Thank you for the flowers Kuro…I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I didn't get in a lot of trouble, so I can still come to school." He said, seeming to pause as a frown came to his face. Then, before he could stop himself, he leaned in and quickly kissed her cheek. "I saw another bruise." He mumbled, hurrying down the sidewalk before she could see the red coloring his cheeks.

Viletta went wide eyed, holding her hand over the place he had kissed. She stared after him as a huge smile spread across her face. Valencia moved closer and snatched the flowers from her sister, giggling as she ran off. "YAY!"

"Valencia!" Viletta yelled, shutting the door to run after her sister.

Kurogané glanced back at the closed door, before continuing down the way to his mother, who looked like she was about to bubble over in happiness. His blush darkened as he stopped before her. "Mom…" he groaned slightly, since this is what he had meant earlier by her getting all giggly and weird.

"You kissed her!" she squealed.

"It was just on the cheek." he huffed, grabbing her hand and beginning to lead her back towards their home.

"You love her! I knew it!" she giggled. "Sure, she's a little emo, but she's so cute!"

The ebony haired boy stopped and looked up at Izayoi. "Mom!" he pouted, his blush undeniable. "She's my best friend, okay? That's it. So please stop making stuff up!"

Izayoi pouted right back. "Aw Kuro…you're no fun."

"Just please don't tell anyone." Kurogané begged. "I don't want it made into a big deal."

His mother sighed, shaking her head as she placed hands on her hips and continued on. "Fine. Fine. I suppose I can handle most of the details myself."

He blinked, before trailing after her. "Details of what?" he asked.

"The wedding of course." She smirked, looking down at him.

"But…but…I'm only eight!" the young Uchiha argued. "I don't even like girls! They're icky, and they have cooties!"

She snickered. "You must like Viletta cooties then."

He crossed his arms and looked forward. "She doesn't have cooties, cause' she's special." He said firmly.

Izayoi smiled, her point only proving itself. "Well we should hurry home so we can see what daddy has made for dinner."

Kurogané shook his head. "I'm not all that hungry." He sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets as the Uchiha District came into view.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna go train or something. Cause' today…I almost hurt that kid with my sand." He admitted, looking up at her. "I've never felt it so strongly before…usually it just floats around me, but I felt it gathering…and an Uchiha should never lose control like that. So I gotta practice."

Izayoi nodded, placing her hand on his head. "Sounds like a plan."

He gave her a small smile, and when they reached their home he went straight back to the training room, foregoing dinner and seeing the rest of his family. As he molded his sand together and worked with it the way his grandmother had taught him, he couldn't help but think of Viletta. She looked so pretty when she smiled, and he was glad that he had managed to cheer her up. And hopefully those kids left her alone, because he'd take them all on next time if they even thought of hurting her.

A dark look came to his eyes then as the grains of his sand began to whirl around him rapidly, reacting to his thoughts. Yes, he'd take on the world if it meant keeping Viletta safe and happy. He'd take down anyone who put her in harm's way, even if it meant he'd have to die for her. The bond they had was a strong one, and she would soon learn, as everyone always did, that to have an Uchiha care that much about you, meant your life would never be the same, ever again.

For better or for worse.


	5. Mission

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Five_

-Mission-

_**Four years later…**_

Viletta sneezed, falling forward a bit as she, Kurogané, Sakimori, and their sensei, Hideaki, trudged through the snow. She was now twelve years old and on her first big time genin mission with her team. She had to admit, she was excited, not only by the fact they got a really cool teacher, but Kurogané was on her team. Though she suspected Izayoi had something to do with that. The Uchiha female was always up to something concerning Kurogané and herself. One time, she'd even asked Viletta for her measurements.

There was something odd about Uchiha Izayoi, but she liked the woman nonetheless. Due to the snow, they were all wearing cloaks around their winter attire to keep away the chill. She had on a long sleeved wool shirt that stopped past her rear, with white leggings and black ninja boots. Around her waist was a crimson red sash, the ends hanging down to her ankles.

She sneezed once more and felt the goose bumps run up her arms. Kurogané looked over at her. As always, he was still taller than her, his messy black hair hanging around his face. He had on plain black clothes, the Uchiha symbol on the back of his shirt, though it was hidden by his cloak. He reached out and caught her as she stumbled slightly. "You want me to carry you?" he asked, searching her frozen face with his jade gaze.

She shook her head, placing her hand on his chest and steadying herself. "I'm okay. I think I was getting sick before we left." She smiled up at him, her dark black locks framing her face perfectly, though they stopped at her chin. The rest of her hair was shorter, making her bangs the longest part of her hair. "I'll be fine." She assured him.

"We should be reaching Yukigakure soon." Hideaki assured them.

Kurogané nodded to his teacher, before lifting Viletta into his arms anyways and holding her against his much warmer frame. Then he picked up his pace, catching up with his cousin and sensei. "Kurogané." Viletta blushed, looking up at his face. "I said I was alright, you don't have to carry me."

Hideaki chuckled. "Now, now." He smiled, glancing back at them. "A man always tends to his lady's needs."

Sakimori laughed, smiling over at them as well as the girl's blush darkened. Kurogané scoffed. "If you're getting sick the last thing you need to be doing is walking." He explained, ignoring the older man's words. "It will only make you feel worse." He moved one of his hands, holding her in one arm while he quickly wrapped his cloak around her to better protect her from the cold.

"Sheesh." She huffed, though she snuggled closer to him as they continued on. It wasn't much later that the gates of Yukigakure came into view. When they were close enough to meet with the guards, Viletta squirmed, so Kurogané had to let her down. She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks…but you had a bruise." She giggled, keeping her cloak around her as Hideaki got them inside.

Inside of Yukigakure was much warmer than its surroundings, it was still covered in snow, but a lot less, and the streets were clear. Hideaki let out a sigh and smiled, looking back at his students. "We made it! I'm so glad you guys didn't get frostbite!"

"We're not pansies Hideaki-sensei." Kurogané said, the small blush on his face easily attributed to the cold, instead of the kiss he had received.

"Can we get some soup Sensei?" Viletta jogged up beside him. "I'm really hungry and I want something warm."

Sakimori nodded. "Mmm…miso soup."

"We have to check in first." Kurogané reminded them.

"Kurogané is right. First we must go see the daimyo. Then we can eat and rest." Hideaki assured them, leading them all off towards the palace in the village. It didn't take them long to reach the place, and they were taken inside where they were greeted with warmth and kindness from the staff.

Finally, they were brought before the daimyo, who appeared to be in her early thirties. She was dressed in an elegant kimono, and seated upon a large, plush chair. She had long, dark brown hair that was pinned back with a pair of decorative chopsticks, and clear blue eyes. She stood upon their arrival and met them in their advance. "Welcome to Yukigakure. You must be from Konoha."

Hideaki nodded. "We are Kyoko-sama. These are my genin, and we're here to retrieve a few snow lilies."

She nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course, I received the Hokage's letter telling of your arrival." The brunette said. "Today you can rest up, and in the morning, I will send you two guides to take you up into the mountains to retrieve the flowers you require. After that you may stay another night before going back to your homeland."

"Thank you very much my lady." He bowed, before ushering the kids out. "Now let's get some food."

"Finally." Sakimori smiled.

"What do you want Kuro?" Viletta asked, leaning against her best friend.

He looked down at her, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders to help keep her warm. "Soup sounds good. Maybe some teriyaki chicken. And hot chocolate."

She nodded, smiling slightly as they were led to the nearest hot pot. Hideaki picked a booth and sat down around the pot with Sakimori on his side. Viletta and Kurogané sat on the other side, pulling off their cloaks and placing them aside since the establishment was nice and toasty. Hideaki signaled a waitress, who came over and started the fire under pot for them and got them their drink and food orders.

"So," the brunette jounin chuckled. "What do ya'll think so far?"

Kurogané shrugged. "It's white and cold." He said, seeming uninterested.

Viletta nodded, taking her soup as the waitress brought it for them along with all their meat. Sakimori started to place some of the beef into the boiling pot, along with some vegetables. "I like Konoha much better." He nodded, rolling up his long sleeves so he could eat.

The group began to eat in silence, since none of them were of a talkative sort. Kurogané glanced over to the girl beside him. "You feeling better?" he asked softly, seeing that she had already devoured most of her soup.

"Much better. After some sleep tonight, I think I'll be right as rain." She assured him, taking out some of the meat and eating it.

"Good." he nodded, grabbing some meat as well.

They all continued to eat, not really any conversation since everyone was content with the silence. Hideaki let out a happy sigh and looked at his group. "I am so proud to have such an un-annoying team. You guys are awesome." He smiled.

"It's cause' we're better than everyone else." Kurogané said confidently, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

Viletta blinked, blushing slightly. "Well, Kurogané is definitely better than everyone else." She said softly, knowing her friend and his cousin were already extremely strong and gifted for their ages.

The ebony haired boy looked at her. "I meant all of us." He said, reaching out and gripping her chin to turn her head to look up at him. "You're special, remember that."

"I know, I know." She smiled a bit.

Hideaki watched the interaction between the two and smirked. "So when are you two getting married again?"

Kurogané gave the brunette a sideways glare, not moving from his spot. "That's not something you joke about Sensei." He said seriously, running his thumb along Viletta's jaw before he released her and straightened.

Hideaki chuckled, watching the dark haired kunoichi face forward, a dark blush on her cheeks as she continued to eat in silence. Sakimori smiled at the two, "I think you should get married…"

"I will when you do, cousin." He replied with a small smirk, knowing how the other boy was around people, especially girls.

"Why?" Sakimori stuck his tongue out at his cousin. "You scared?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." He replied. "You're the one who's a fraidy cat all the time."

"I'm not a fraidy cat!" Sakimori huffed, blushing a bit since his voice had gotten so loud. "I was the one to kill that spider that ran after Viletta cause' you said it was icky."

Kurogané smirked. "Yeah, cause' I didn't want to kill it. So I got you to do it for me. That's not fear, that's manipulation."

"Well you're still a wuss!" the older Uchiha declared.

He slammed his hand on the table, glaring at him. "Am not! You big pansy!"

"Ninny!" Sakimori actually yelled back, doing the same as they glared at each other with red sharingan.

Viletta growled lowly before slamming her own chop sticks down. "Oh my God! Will you two shut up!" she snapped, grabbing her cloak and standing as she stormed out of the establishment.

Hideaki blinked, looking after the kunoichi. "Well now…seems I was proven wrong."

Kurogané scoffed. "Now look what you did." He accused his cousin, grabbing his cloak and rushing after the girl. He spotted her heading down the street towards their hotel. "Viletta!" he called out, catching up with her and placing his hand on her shoulder. "Viletta, what's wrong? Why'd you leave in the middle of dinner?"

"Cause' you guys were annoying me." She huffed, continuing forward, not bothering to look over at him.

"But…he started it." He said.

"And you continued it. So you're both idiots." She said simply, crossing her arms since she was feeling the cold get to her once more.

Kurogané huffed, before wordlessly wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer so that he could share his warmth with her. "Well…sorry." He eventually said, looking down in slight shame, since he knew she was right.

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's okay." She said, a smile tugging at her lips.

They walked like this all the way to their hotel, where Kurogané checked them in, getting the room for Viletta and the one he, Sakimori, and their sensei would be sharing. Then he led her upstairs and stopped before her room. "How are you feeling?" he asked, placing his hand on her forehead. "Do you want me to go and get you any tea or something?"

"Green tea would be nice." She said happily. "I'll take a shower real quick." She said offering him her key once she unlocked the room. "Just come on in." the dark haired girl smiled, disappearing into the room.

He nodded to himself, turning and doing just that. Finding some good tea wasn't too hard, because all he had to do was ask the guy at the desk where he could buy it, and luckily they had some in the hotel's café. When he returned, it was with two steaming cup in his hands, since he'd decided to get some as well. He opened Viletta's hotel room door, discovering that she was still in the shower.

Deciding to wait for her, he walked across the room and set down the cups on one of the nightstands. Then he pulled off his cloak and shoes, as well as his sweater, since he was inside. Letting out a sigh, he took a drink of his tea before flopping down on her bed, making himself comfortable as he waited for her to finish.

Finally, the shower stopped and soon after the door to the bathroom opened. Viletta came out, wrapped in nothing but a towel, her dark locks damp but slightly dried. "Oh hey Kuro." She smiled, walking over to him and taking one of the cups and smelling the refreshing aroma.

"Did you have a nice shower?" Kurogané asked, his gaze moving to her. He blinked, blushing slightly at her state of dress. It's not like this was the first time he'd seen her in a towel, but he was noticing things about her now that never used to be there. Like how her hips were beginning to flare out slightly, or how her chest wasn't flat anymore and he could see a hint of cleavage poking out from the top. Not to mention the amount of pale, smooth leg that was exposed to him. He took in her appearance, and hoped she didn't notice the small amount of color that had come to his cheeks as he sat up and drank from his cup once more.

"I did." She nodded, sipping the tea. "I already feel so much better." She smiled, looking down at him. Viletta blinked, moving over to him and placing her hand on his forehead as she leaned forward. "You okay? You feel a bit warm."

His jade gaze moved down to her chest, before he looked back up at her. "I think…I might be catching your cold…" he said, feeling the heat in his face increase.

"Oh no." she frowned, tilting her head a bit to the side as she watched him. "I'll see if I can get you some medicine. Or maybe you should take bath and get the germs off." Viletta grabbed his arm and pulled him up, ushering him to her bathroom. "It's already steamy, so use mine and wash. I'll get you some new clothes." She said, turning to leave.

Kurogané seemed a bit confused, "V-Viletta it's really okay. I can-" he reached for her, but grabbed onto her towel while she was moving away.

The cloth fell free as Viletta stumbled forward, her eyes widening when she felt the cool air against her. Kurogané couldn't help but stare at the skin that had been exposed to him. His gaze moved up to her chest, where it became transfixed. "…wow." He said softly, unable to form any other coherent thought.

"Oh my God!" she yelled, her face turning the color of a cherry as she attempted to cover herself. "Kurogané!" she huffed, snatching the towel from him and slamming the door so he was inside.

He blinked, confused as he came out of his trance. He shook his head, clearing it before he threw the door open wide. "Viletta, I'm so sorry!" he said, going back out into the room where she was. "I didn't mean to pull your towel off, I swear!"

The dark haired girl blinked, since she was in the process of pulling on her panties and was in nothing more. "Kurogané!" She cried out, her blush turning darker, if that was possible, as she pulled up her shirt to shield herself. "Get in the bathroom!" she ordered, pointing back to the door.

"Ah!" he shouted, his face turning as dark as hers as he turned and scrambled back into the room. He practically slammed the door behind him, sitting there on the floor as he stared at it, his eyes the size of saucers.

He had just seen Viletta naked. Twice. And he'd seen…_everything_. That was definitely an image he would never erase from his memory. Ever.

Viletta quickly pulled on her underwear and bra, dressing in her sleep clothes which were a pair of pajama pants and a dark green tank top. She grabbed Kurogané's key and when she finally heard the shower she went and got him his own clothes. When she came back he was still in the shower, so she set his things on the bed and sat beside them, thinking about their previous encounter.

Kurogané had seen her naked, completely naked. Sure, he'd seen her bare before, but that was when they were little and didn't care. Now, she blushed once more, they were mature. Of course she liked Kurogané, he was her best friend, not to mention he was extremely attractive.

The water turned off then, and it wasn't too much longer that the door opened and Kurogané walked out, a towel wrapped around his waist. His expression immediately became apologetic. "I'm really sorry Viletta. That was so stupid of me earlier." he said, stopping before her.

She looked up at him, before glancing down and poking her fingers together nervously. "It's…okay…I mean at least…it was you, you're my best friend. I know you weren't trying anything." She sighed.

"Well…maybe…I woulda maybe…" he sighed, his words not making any sense even to him. But if he hadn't been so shocked or embarrassed…maybe he would have tried something with her. Reaching out, he cupped her cheek as he leaned down and kissed the opposite one. "You looked like you had a bruise." He said, turning and grabbing his clothes so that he could get dressed.

Viletta touched the spot he had kissed and looked after him with a fond stare. When he went back into the bathroom she laid back and closed her eyes, allowing a smile to grace her features.

He came back out, dressed in his pajamas which consisted of an old black t-shirt and some pants. He had folded up his clothes from earlier, and set them aside before sitting next to his friend on the bed. Looking down at her face, he couldn't help but think of how peaceful she appeared. And how pretty. "Viletta…" he said softly, reaching out and stroking her cheek.

Her deep green eyes opened and stared into his lighter gaze. A small smile came to his face as he tried not to get lost in the depth of her stare. "You should get some rest." He said, instead of telling her she was beautiful like he'd wanted to. "So your cold can be gone by tomorrow."

"Probably." She laughed, sitting up and causing him to straighten. "Well I hope you feel better too. I think I'll finish my tea and go to bed."

"Alright." he picked up his clothes and stood, grabbing his shoes as well. "I'll see you in the morning." He waved, heading towards her door.

"Night." She waved, crawling under the covers and snuggling into their warmth.

"Night." He glanced back at her before leaving her room.

When he entered his once more, he saw that Sakimori was already in bed, and his sensei was taking a shower. Sighing, he put his clothes away before crawling into his own bed. Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but think of Viletta's naked body and how soft and supple it looked. He hoped this didn't make him a pervert or anything. He was just an almost teenage boy, so these thoughts, along with his curiosity, were natural. And he'd never talk to anyone about it. Because the last thing people needed to know was what he really thought of his best friend. It would just cause his mother to move up her plans for their wedding and make them get married on the spot, and that was the last thing he wanted.

So, with another sigh, he rolled over and covered his head with his pillow, hoping that sleep overtook him soon.


	6. Mountaintop

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Six_

-Mountaintop-

The next morning found Kurogané and the rest of his team eating down in the café at their hotel. There was silence like usual, but this one was different from the norm. The air between Viletta and the Uchiha was different, not enough to make it a problem, but enough for Sakimori and Hideaki to exchange curious looks.

Kurogané just couldn't help himself. Every time he looked at his friend he pictured her naked. It was like an automatic response that his brain did, and he wanted it to stop. He wondered what would have happened, if he'd actually had the nerve to make a move on her last night. Would she have reciprocated, or turned him away? Either way, he didn't want to risk ruining their friendship, and that was why he never pursued anything with her.

She was a delicate creature, after all, and he didn't want to cause her any pain or stress by confessing his true feelings. He knew that practically everyone in Konoha was waiting for them to get married, but he just didn't see it happening. Sure, he and the ebony haired girl were close, but her reactions to him were normal for someone as quiet and shy as she was. So he didn't really think anything of it.

His thoughts still centered around the girl next to him, his gaze shifted to look down at her. In that moment he caught her glancing at him, and had to hide his smirk when she quickly looked away, embarrassed at being caught. Did she have any idea how cute she looked when she did that? He returned his attention to the cinnamon roll before him, knowing that he needed to eat his fill so that he had plenty of energy to climb up the mountain.

Kurogané glanced at Viletta once more, seeing her poking at her food. "Are you well enough to go with us?" he asked out of concern, since it didn't appear like she was eating much. "I don't want you to push yourself if you're still not feeling well."

"Of course I'm alright." she fully blushed now as she stabbed her fork in her food. "It's you I'm worried about since you've been getting a fever. You shouldn't go out on a mountaintop." She scolded, sounding like a mother to her child.

His brow furrowed. "I don't have a fever." He said. "I feel fine."

She looked at him fully, placing her hand over his forehead. "Well you said last night that you were feeling like you caught my cold." She said worriedly. "And you were all red and hot."

"Well considering you two were alone," Hideaki began with a small smirk. "It was probably cause' he was so ner-OW!" their leader yelled out, since Kurogané had kicked his sensei in the shin.

"I'm better now." The Uchiha assured her. "I promise."

"You sure?" she prodded, leaning closer to him. "I don't want you to get sick. Then sensei will have to carry you all the way home." She smirked.

Kurogané returned the gesture. "I'm sure. Besides, I have to stay well in case you need to be carried home."

Viletta huffed out proudly. "I'll be fine. Just you watch." She waved him off, finishing up her breakfast, mostly to appease him.

"Oh I will." He chuckled, drinking the rest of his orange juice.

Sakimori just shook his head as he ate his pancakes. Hideaki snickered and looked between the two. "You two are simply adorable. Kurogané you're just like your dad, it's almost scary."

In an instant the brunette was fixed with a harsh jade glare. "I am not." He said firmly, crossing his arms. "That man is a bubbly freak."

"Well I wouldn't say bubbly, but you certainly have his dedication to a female down to a key. Trust me, I was there when he was pursuing your mom. It's like watching a memory." He chuckled, not at all threatened by the Uchiha boy.

Viletta turned a dark red as she stared down at her plate, playing nervously with her fingers. Kurogané huffed, keeping his blush off his face as he continued to give his sensei a hard stare. "I'm still not like him." he glanced down at Viletta's fidgeting hands and placed his over hers to halt the movements.

She stole a glance over at him, before returning her eyes to their hands. Hideaki sighed and stood, shaking his head as he straightened himself. "Well I think we're all ready, don't you? Let's suit up and head out to meet our guides in the lobby. Be done in ten minutes." He ordered, heading off.

Sakimori stared after him before looking back at his cousin. "I don't think it's such a bad thing to be like your dad Kuro. Your dad is cool."

"Not as cool as yours." He argued, looking over at him, though he kept his hand over Viletta's, since he liked the contact. "Mine is just…" he shook his head, words unable to describe how odd his father was.

"I think Noriaki-sama is scary." Viletta frowned.

Both Uchiha looked at her. "How come?" Kurogané asked.

She glanced up, her blush intensifying, "Well…he's just scary and he's…" her voice lowered to a whisper. "The head of the Anbu. They do bad and scary things."

"Necessary things." He argued. "But I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like you see my uncle all that much anyways."

"I don't tell you want not to like, okay Kurogané." She huffed, standing and making his hands fall. "I didn't know I wasn't allowed to disapprove of something." Viletta grumbled, before stomping off to go get ready.

He blinked, glancing after her. "I don't understand." He said, looking back at his cousin. "I never said she wasn't allowed to dislike something."

Sakimori shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend to know the first thing about girls and their crazy thoughts." He sighed, standing as well and waiting for his cousin as they headed up together.

"Girls are too complicated." The other boy agreed. "Sometimes I don't even understand Izumi, and I live with her."

Sakimori nodded. "Kairi's a plain weirdo and she gets away with everything." He grumbled.

"So does Izumi. Except when my mom is around, cause' she's better at seeing through her deception than my dad. He just thinks she's the most angelic thing that ever hit the planet." Kurogané complained.

The two nodded and sighed together as they went back into their room and got ready for their mission. Once they finished up, they locked the door and went down to the lobby to see their sensei and Viletta already down there and talking to two boys near their age. They both had fair colored hair, one being light blue, while the other had grey. The blue haired boy was talking animatedly to Viletta, who seemed to be slightly interested in what he was saying.

And then, the snow genin smiled and took her hand in his, lifting it so he could kiss her flesh, which made a soft pink blush rise in the girl's cheeks. Kurogané was over there in less than a second, gripping the boy's lips in his hand and glaring into his startled indigo gaze with his sharingan. "If you value your life," the Uchiha said slowly, tightening his grip slightly. "You will not be so forward with Viletta ever again."

"Okay." The boy said, though it sounded odd since his mouth was still being held captive.

Kurogané released him, pushing him back away from his friend. The boy rubbed his mouth. "Geez, I was just introducing myself." He grumbled.

"Kurogané." Viletta huffed, giving him a hard stare. "That was rude."

Kurogané's now jade gaze moved to her. "He was invading your personal space." He defended, crossing his arms. "Besides, I am the only one who's allowed to make your bruises go away."

"Oh?" she perked up a bit, trying not to grin as she pointed to her lips. "I did bite my lip and it hurts real bad."

He smirked, reaching out and gripping her chin as he moved closer to her. "Really?" he asked, intrigued. "Let me see…" He tilted her head up and leaned down, his mouth inching towards hers as her eyes widened and the blush returned to her cheeks tenfold. This was it. Kurogané was going to kiss her on the lips and prove his love was deeper than just friendship and in front of everyone nonetheless. She could feel her heart hammer, about to burst from her chest.

"Can you please explain what's going on?" the blue haired boy from earlier asked. Kurogané jerked away from Viletta, since he was _right _next to them.

"Huh?" the ebony haired boy asked, snapped from the daze he had been in.

"I just don't get this…" the Snow genin pointed between the two Konoha nin. "Why would kissing her make a bruise go away? And she doesn't even have any bruises!" he shoved his hands into his hair, looking at Viletta. "Unless they're invisible." He said softly.

Viletta huffed angrily, punching the annoyance straight in the nose and glaring down at him. "You idiot!" she yelled, stomping on him before storming out of the lobby and into the snow.

Sakimori simply blinked, as did the other snow genin. They looked down at the one on the ground. The grey haired boy sighed, "Now Tai, why'd you have to go and do something stupid like that?"

"I didn't…" The blue haired boy began, before his breath was knocked out of him as Kurogané stepped on him to follow the ebony haired girl out. "…mean too." He wheezed. "I'm so confused."

Hideaki sighed and stepped over Taizen. "I'd just leave those two alone boys. They're…complicated." He chuckled, leaving as well. Sakimori helped Tai up and started out with them to follow his sensei.

"My cousin is very protective of Viletta, though he has yet to make his love known. Even though everyone already knows."

"Oh, so he's going to ask her out?" Taizen asked, touching his throbbing nose as they followed the others outside.

"Most likely not." He sighed. "That's just not how Uchihas roll. We tend to complicate things."

The indigo eyed boy grimaced, deciding to leave his nose alone, since it wasn't broken. "Well I will definitely be staying away from them the remainder of our trip." He grumbled.

"I told you that hitting on girls would get you into trouble." The grey haired boy shook his head, crossing his arms as they followed the older man towards the gates.

Taizen glared over at him. "Oh shut up Hiro. I was just being friendly. And she looks cute when she blushes."

Sakimori nodded. "She does look cute when she blushes."

"I saw clearly." Hiro huffed. "But if a woman is claimed by another, you will end up getting into a fight."

"Hence why I will no longer hit on her." Taizen said, raising a finger. "She can just stay with the emo kid."

Hiro sighed. "You will never learn."

Kurogané looked back at them from his spot beside Viletta. "Hey," he called, getting their attention. "If you're the guides, shouldn't you be leading us instead of talking amongst yourselves?" he arched a domineering brow.

The two Snow nin blinked and looked at one another before hurrying ahead, announcing that they would be taking the group almost to the peak of the mountain. And so the incessant talking began.

* * *

Viletta pulled up her scarf, covering her mouth and trying to sneeze as silently as possible as to not alert Kurogané, who was currently in front of her looking around the mountainside as they hiked towards the top. But unfortunately for her, he was attuned to her every action, and glanced back. He slowed, matching her pace. "You cold?" he asked, since he'd noticed she'd pulled her scarf up.

"Just my nose." She assured him a bit awkwardly, waving him off as she leaned away and turned her head so she could manage out a silent sneeze that she mostly held in.

His gaze narrowed as he saw her shoulders shake slightly. "Come here." He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her against him. "Don't worry, we're almost to the top I think, and the trip down is always shorter than the one up."

"Kuro, I'm fine." She pulled down her scarf a bit so she could smile at him. "Please stop treating me like a kid." She said, despite the fact that she leaned into his embrace.

He smirked, lowering his head so they could hear one another more easily. "Does that mean you want me to stop making your bruises feel better?" he teased, rubbing her arm to create some friction.

"Never." She replied breathlessly, looking up and meeting his gaze.

His smirk turned into a smile. "I didn't think so." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Viletta smiled, her whole body relaxing against his. "You know…Kurogané…" her blush returned at what she was about to admit. "I really, really li-" her eyes widened suddenly as a huge explosion went off, and suddenly an avalanche of snow was cascading towards them.

"Move!" Hiro called, jumping back and grabbing onto Sakimori as he disappeared. Taizen did the same latching onto Hideaki as he dispersed into the snow.

Kurogané's sand swept around him and Viletta as he quickly scooped her into his arms. The two reappeared in the air away from the falling snow, floating on a small cloud of the grains. His sharingan was activated, and he searched the area. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking to the girl in his arms.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking off towards the mountain. "But who threw that explosive tag?"

"Someone who doesn't want us to make it to the top." The Uchiha said, having his sand carry them to where the rest of their team was as he scanned for the source.

Hideaki was beside them in an instant, checking them both. "You two are alright." He nodded, looking worried. "Forgive me for leaving you Kurogané, I had faith in your sand that you could protect yourself and Viletta."

"I understand Sensei." The ebony haired boy nodded, setting Viletta down carefully. "It was no trouble."

The Jounin looked around, his eyes narrowing. "Well everyone be on the lookout, because that was not friendly fire." He assured them.

Hiro and Taizen both let out sighs, "We should hurry before anything more could happen." The grey haired boy said, leading them back up the mountain, though now he was on the alert. Sakimori and Kurogané both took one of Viletta's sides as they continued, and Hideaki remained behind them. When a few ninja popped out of the snow in front of Hiro and Taizen, Hideaki shot forward, two kunai in hand, and slit their throats before taking on the third. "Offensive!" he ordered his team.

Kurogané quickly formed a few hand signs, blowing a huge ball of fire forward. His teammates leapt out of the way, allowing the flames to melt the surrounding snow and reveal the rest of the hiding enemy. Not waiting around, Taizen drew a kunai and ran at them, trying to separate one of them from the group to make the battle easier.

Sakimori followed up his cousin, a loud sound crackling as a shot of lightning sped past them and nailed two of the ninja to a nearby tree. A few moved around, though Hideaki was taking care of a majority of the group. Viletta pulled out two kunai and attacked one of the ninja, moving around and evading as she jammed one between his shoulder and neck. Kurogané continued his assault of fire, the heat definitely being something that none of these ninja seemed to be used to. Along with this, he used his sand, knocking them off the side of the mountain as they were distracted by his flames.

"Sakimori, Kurogané. Katon no jutsu." Hideaki made a few hand signs, and all around them wood shot out from the ground and wrapped around the remaining ninja. "Now!" he ordered.

Both Uchihas made the hand signs and took deep breaths before lighting all the cocoons on fire. Everyone stood by, watching them burn and hearing the screams. "Whoa." Taizen said, taking in the sight. "That's that fancy Uchiha move, huh?" he asked, looking to the two, who nodded.

"Every Uchiha learns it as their first jutsu." Kurogané explained.

Sakimori nodded, though he breathed out tiredly from using so many different techniques. "That lightning still takes a lot out of me."

"Good job guys!" Viletta ran up, smiling at them, blood splattered on her face from the two ninja she'd killed.

Kurogané smiled slightly, deactivating his sharingan. "Thanks." He said, looking her over. "You didn't get hurt did you?"

"No." she blinked. "Why?"

"I was just making sure." He said. "I worry about you sometimes." He said, reaching out and wiping the blood from her cheek.

She waved him off, though her nose was now pink and it looked as if her eyes were heavy. "I'm perfectly fine." She assured, before sneezing. Hideaki walked over to them, smiling down at the kunoichi.

"Viletta, you've got a cold." He said, offering his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her up and situated her on his back. "You've got to stay out of the snow." He ordered, only making her pout.

"I'm fine." She huffed.

Hideaki only laughed. "Boys, lead the way and be quick about it. We don't want to run into anymore ninja. I think they might be after the flowers and got lost. I must inform your daimyo."

Hiro nodded and hurried forward, since they were close to the snow lilies. Taizen was next to him, and it took them no time at all to reach the top where the lilies were located. "Here they are." The blue haired boy said, gesturing to the plants.

"How many do we need Sensei?" Kurogané asked, moving towards them. Because the faster they got the flowers the sooner he could take Viletta back to her room and help her get better.

"We need ten." He said, fishing out a special bag from his kunai pouch. "Use this. And uproot them completely." He instructed.

The Uchiha nodded, taking the bag and doing as he was told. Sakimori helped him, and in no time at all they had all that they needed. He gave the bag back to his teacher, and the group began to head back down the mountain. "Sensei, can I take Viletta back to the hotel using my sand?" Kurogané asked. "That way she'll be out of the cold and get some rest before we return to Konoha tomorrow."

"That's a good idea Kurogané. We'll meet you down there. I'll get her some medicine after I report to the daimyo." Hideaki smiled at his student before lowering Viletta down. She huffed, still looking upset but took Kurogané's hand nonetheless.

He pulled her against him, keeping his arms around her as his sand whirled around them. And in the next instant, they were at the gates to Yukigakure. Kurogané lifted her into his arms without a word, and began to swiftly make his way to their hotel. "When we get to your room I want you to take a nice hot bath." He instructed. "And I will fetch you some herbal tea. Understand?"

"Yes _mom_." She stuck her tongue out at him. "You guys are so overly cautious, it's just a cold."

"Hey, colds can easily turn into pneumonia you know." He huffed, looking down at her. "Besides, it's my job to take care of you always. So while you're sick I will be there to make sure you get better."

Viletta smiled, laughing at him. "You know, if I didn't know any better I would say you're obsessed with me." She teased.

The ebony haired boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Pretty close to the truth." He supposed.

"You're obsessed with me?" she smirked, arching a curious brow.

He locked gazes with her deep pools of green. "That's what Izumi says…and now that I'm thinking about it…she's probably right." he sighed, though not in a way that implied it was a bad thing. "But you know, those who become the obsession of an Uchiha don't always like it." he warned her. "It only makes things more complicated and difficult than they already were."

"Is it ever uncomplicated and simple either way?" she wondered as they arrived in the lobby.

"Not really." He agreed, taking her up to her room. Once they were inside he set her down, and removed her cloak and scarf. "Now you go and get in the tub, and I'll grab you some tea and bring it back up."

"Okay." She smiled slightly, her gaze searching his own. She swallowed nervously, before leaning in to kiss him flat on the lips. But of course, her fear of rejection crawled up and moved her to the side so she kissed the corner of his mouth. She let the kiss linger before she slowly pulled away, looking up at him with an anxious stare. "You had a bruise." Viletta said softly, before quickly moving past him and disappearing into the bathroom, where her blush finally crept up her face.

Not wanting to be confronted, she quickly hurried over to the tub and started the water so he would know not to come inside.

Taking the hint, Kurogané left to go and get her some tea from downstairs, not caring that his blush was visible for all to see. The entire time he was gone, he couldn't help but wonder about the implications of her actions. He could have sworn she was going to kiss him, but when she didn't his confidence faltered. Did she return his feelings? Or perhaps was she merely thanking him for being as overprotective as he was?

He shook his head, not really knowing what to make of it. His thoughts remained confused when he walked back into her room. He went over to the bathroom door and knocked, waiting until she said it was okay for him to enter. When he did, he saw that she had opted on a bubble bath, the suds nearly overflowing the tub and keeping her form hidden from him. He had to hold back his look of disappointment.

"Here you go." He said, handing her the steaming cup before taking a seat next to the tub and watching her. "It should warm you up from the inside out."

"Thanks." She said softly, taking the cup from him and sipping at the beverage. "I hate to be a bother…but do you think, after I get out of the bath, you could get me some chicken soup?"

"Of course." He smiled slightly. "You want me to rub your back too? It'll help relax you into a more peaceful slumber."

"No that's okay." She said softly, lowering into the tub. "You staying with me will be good enough."

His smile widened, and he reached out to brush some of her bangs from her face. "I can stay the night if you wish. I'm sure sensei won't mind if I keep an eye on you while you sleep. In case you need anything during the night."

"Since when has sensei said you can't do anything considering me?" she giggled, drinking the rest of the tea and handing him the cup.

"Never." He smirked, rising and kissing her on the forehead. "I'll go get your soup while you finish up." He said, leaving her to her own devices.

Viletta let out a sigh as she watched him go. She sunk down a bit in the tub, thinking about Kurogané and their slight kiss. How she loved that boy. He was her everything. He was strong, quiet, and caring, though he played off more callous to others. She'd fallen in love with him when they were in primary school, because he understood her and how she liked the quiet. But he was her best friend, and thus, afraid to admit her stronger feelings because she didn't want to be rejected and then mess up their friendship.

She let out a low growl, blowing more bubbles in the water as she thought about Kurogané. He was so handsome and most certainly the most attractive Uchiha she'd ever seen, which his grandmother only said was because she never saw Akito as a teenager. Viletta closed her eyes, remembering the other day when he'd seen all of her. A small blush crept up her cheeks and her hand naughtily made its way between her legs. She took in a sharp breath as her fingers rubbed against her clit. She moaned out softly, "Kurogané…" she whispered out, continuing her antics as her thoughts drifted to things her overprotective Uchiha could do to her if he really wanted to.

A louder moan came from her throat, and then suddenly she heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Viletta?" she heard her sensei's voice, and all the color drained from her face. She scrambled out of the bathtub and grabbed a towel, slipping and slamming into the door.

"Ow…" she groaned out, grabbing the doorknob and throwing it open to see Hideaki with a shocked look on his face.

"Are you okay? I thought I heard you-"

The dark haired girl looked down and saw the medicine in his hand. She snatched it from him and then shoved him towards the door and out. "You heard nothing! Thank you! Now please go away!" she yelled, slamming the door after him, sliding down the door as her blush spread. "Oh…my…God…" she grumbled, pulling her knees up and resting her forehead on them.

It wasn't too long later there was a knock on her hotel room door. "Viletta?" Kurogané's voice called through the barrier. "Are you decent?"

"No." she whined, falling forward and then laying on her side. "But you can come in anyways."

The door opened slowly, and he poked his head around it before entering, carrying a container that she assumed held her soup in it. And on top of that was a glass. "I brought your food, and some water to drink." He announced, setting the items aside and lowering down to the floor. He crawled so that he was over her slightly, and placed his hand on her forehead. "Are you alright? You seem a bit flushed." He observed.

"I wanna be dead." She groaned, turning so she was now on her stomach.

Kurogané blinked. "Why?" he asked, leaning closer to her to try and get a look at her face. "Are you feeling worse?"

She nodded, mumbling something into the carpet. Not catching what she said, he leaned closer to her ear to try and understand her better. "Huh?"

She turned her head to face him and frowned. "Sensei…heard me say some…disturbing things…in the bath."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "…like…?"

Her blush returned. "I was…um…" her voice got lower. "Masturbating…" she whispered.

The Uchiha's jade gaze widened and he moved back slightly, shocked. "…R-really?" he asked, having never thought she'd ever do such a thing. "I…didn't realize you were so dirty." He smirked, his wits having caught up with him. "Did you get to finish at least? Or did sensei interrupt?"

Viletta sat up, her eyes wide as she shoved his face away. "Kuro! That's disgusting! And none of your business, pervert!" she huffed, though her blush spread down her neck and to her chest.

"I was just wondering!" he said a bit loudly, his cheeks now pink at her correct accusation. "But now I keep thinking about it…and how cute you'd look…" his gaze traveled down her barely concealed form, resting on her pelvis.

"Well of course I would look cute masturbating. I'm a girl and boys are pervy and always think of dirty things that girls do." she said accusingly as she placed her hands over her cheeks and shook her head.

"…do you have any bruises down there?" he whispered, not even realizing the thought left his mouth. His eyes widened, his blush darkening. "Um…" he swallowed, unable to think of something to say to cover his perverted question.

The dark haired girl stared at him, somehow turning redder as she lowered her hand to her towel and gripped the soft fabric. "Um…" she swallowed, avoiding his gaze. "Do you want to check for me?"

He nodded dumbly, before realizing he needed to vocalize his answer. "Yes…" he said, slowly moving towards her, feeling like this was all a dream.

Viletta took in a deep breath, before gripping the edges of her towel and opening it up slowly as she spread her legs a bit. She focused on the wall, her heartbeat practically pounding in her ears. Kurogané's gaze zeroed in on her privates, and he lowered down so that he could get a better look at them. They looked so much different than a boy's. So soft and delicate, like a flower. He placed his hands on her inner thighs, pushing her legs further open to make it easier for his head to fit between them. Licking his lips a bit nervously, he leaned in and pressed his mouth against her folds, before closing his eyes and savoring the moment. "How's this?" he asked, continuing to just kiss her privates, since he didn't want to freak her out.

She moaned softly, bringing one of her fists to her mouth as she bit down on her thumb. "Kurogané…" she whispered, her breathing already picking up.

He glanced up at her, and took her reactions as a good sign. "I'm going to try…tasting." He warned, and this time when he leaned in his tongue darted out and slid along her slit. He circled it around her clit, an area he had read held many nerves and really turned a girl on.

She gasped, her eyes widening as she cried out. "Okay! Okay." She breathed, placing her hand on his head and gently forcing him away. "I think the bruises are going to be okay." She said, looking down at him as she quickly covered herself with her towel.

He blinked, nodding slowly. "I'm…gonna take a shower. Eat your soup before it gets cold." He instructed, kissing her cheek really quickly before rushing off to the bathroom so that she wouldn't see how she was affecting him.

Viletta stared after him, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She'd just willingly let Kurogané see her naked and he'd liked it so much he'd touched her most private areas. The only reason she'd made him stop was because she knew it was inappropriate for kids their age to be fooling around in such areas.

She stood slowly, feeling the effects of his actions in her knees for a bit. But she didn't want to look like an idiot, still naked and sitting there when he got out. So she dried off and dressed in her nightwear, which was a pair of black shorts and matching tank top. She brushed out her hair and ate her soup, cleaning up before she settled into bed.

A bit later, the sound of the shower stopped, and Kurogané stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of baggy pants and a shirt. He turned off the light, illuminating the room in moonlight as he made his way over to the bed. "How do you feel?" he asked softly, getting next to her beneath the sheets.

"Pretty tired." She yawned, laying down and facing him as he did the same. "How about you?"

"Yeah…" he sighed, actually feeling exhausted. His emotions had been on a crazy roller coaster all day, and he just couldn't handle it. "Me too."

She smiled at him and closed her eyes, yawning as she placed her hand in the space between them. He looked at her smooth, creamy skin before shifting his gaze to her face. He smiled as well, placing his hand over hers and closing it around hers, only feeling her return his grip the best she could. "Goodnight Kurogané." She whispered.

"Night Viletta." He murmured, his eyes drifting shut. The pair fell asleep then, thinking of the person next to them. Kurogané was confused about a lot of things, but he knew one thing for certain. He was never going to let her go. Ever.


	7. Moonlight

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Seven_

-Moonlight-

_**Three years later…**_

Jade eyes blinked in confusion as the Hokage finished explaining the mission he was to go on. "…really?" Kurogané asked, wanting to be sure. He'd grown quite a lot since he was a genin, not only in height but in build. His form was thin but lean, made up of pure muscle. He'd grown out his hair once more, allowing his ebony locks to brush against the collar of his shirt in the back, but only slightly. If he let it get any longer he'd look like a hobo, and his mother would chop it off herself. She'd even said so.

He was dressed in a pair of black pants, and a tight black shirt. It was sleeveless, showing off the muscles of his arms, and had the Uchiha symbol on the back. He'd never tell anyone, but the reason he favored shirts that had no sleeves was because this way Viletta could see his muscles. He'd caught her staring at them once, and it didn't take a genius to decipher the blush on her face as she quickly looked away. A kunai pouch rested low on his hips, and covering his hands were fingerless gloves that stopped just past his wrists, a sheet of metal on the top to protect his hands when he fought, since he usually used a sword.

"You just want me to deliver a scroll to a nearby village? Can't you have a genin team do that?" he asked, clearly not liking that he was being given such a simple mission. Did his uncle not comprehend how mundane such a task was for him?

"Kurogané." Kanamé sighed. "I already told you that all the genin teams are out on missions with their sensei. I know you'll get it done fast, and as demeaning as you think this task is, if I ask your Uncle Nori to do it he will barbeque me then and there for simply wasting his time." He huffed, holding the scroll out to his nephew. "Now please take care of it for me."

The young Uchiha sighed softly, taking the scroll from him. "Can I at least take Viletta with me so the experience won't be so dull?" he asked, already sounding bored.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" the Hokage frowned, rubbing the back of his head. "Aren't you two…becoming more touchy lately?"

He crossed his arms and gave his uncle a hard stare. "Is there something wrong with that?" he asked.

"There is if I have to deal with the repercussions from my sister and Viletta's mother should you allow yourself to indulge in the mysteries of sex. I mean you're only fifteen. Even your grandmother and grandfather waited till they were eighteen." He explained.

"Uncle Nori had sex when he was fourteen, and he didn't even care about that girl, so I don't see why it's such a big deal." Kurogané argued.

Kanamé gave him the same hard stare, unaffected by his nephew's callousness. "I seriously hope Noriaki is not your role model in that aspect of your life. So just behave, okay? Then you can take her."

The two stared at one another for a while, in a silent battle of will. "Fine." Kurogané said eventually. "I will not have sex with her. But I make no promises on fooling around."

The Hokage glanced around before coughing a bit. "I'm just saying Kurogané, when you have sex for the first time, it's _really_ nice when she's got full, bouncy breasts to fondle." He smirked, blushing a bit.

He blinked. "But…Viletta has breasts. They're like…" he brought his hands to his chest and cupped them, trying to show an example of about how big her chest was. "Are you saying they might get bigger?"

"She's only fifteen." He pointed out. "Girls don't stop growing till maybe their early twenties. Hers will definitely get bigger."

Kurogané contemplated this. "I will definitely take that into consideration then." He nodded. "So can she come with me?" He asked, wanting to be sure.

Kanamé nodded, taking his seat once more. "Why not?" he shrugged.

"Thank you Uncle." He said, bowing slightly before leaving the office in a swirl of sand. He reappeared in his room, and grabbed his sword to strap onto his back as he walked out. Pausing in front of his sister's door, he knocked twice before opening it. Currently, Izumi was lounging on her bed and reading a magazine. "I'm going on a mission." He announced. "Tell mom I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest."

The dark haired girl lifted her magazine and looked over at her brother. "Okay." She said, sounding bored, until she sat up excitedly. "Wait!" Izumi declared before he could leave. "Where are you going?" she asked, practically bouncing over to him.

"Just to the village of Iwasaki." Kurogané said. "Did you want me to get you something while I was there?"

Her smile grew as she latched onto his arm. "Some rock candy would be awwwwesome." She said, batting her eyelashes.

He smiled slightly. "You want one of every flavor?" he asked.

"Yes please." she giggled, snuggling against him. They still looked similar to one another, as most twins always do. But now their white streak and eye colors weren't the only things making them different. Kurogané was much taller than his sister, despite the fact he was only five minutes older.

He chuckled, turning to give her a brief hug. "Alright, I'll make sure to bring some back for you."

"Thanks bobo." She smiled, wrapping her arms around him in a tighter embrace. "Be safe and come home soon." Izumi giggled, kissing his cheek.

"I always do." Kurogané replied, reaching out and ruffling her hair. "Later Zuzu." He laughed, letting his sand take him away before he'd have to deal with her wrath for messing up her hair. Honestly, he didn't see the big deal, but whatever. It was a girl thing.

He reappeared in front of Viletta's house, and quickly rang the doorbell. He heard the sound of running footsteps, and already knew who would be answering the door. He wasn't wrong.

"Hey Kuro!" Valencia smiled. She'd grown a lot over the years, and was tall enough to just barely come up to his shoulders. Her green hair was cut short, similar to her sister's, only the right side of it grew longer, while the left stayed the same length as the rest of her hair. Her hazel eyes sparkled with joy as they always did. "Come on in! Lettie is in her room."

He nodded his thanks to her, quietly entering and making his way down the all familiar hallway. Her door was open, and he could see her reading comfortably on her bed. "Hey." He greeted, leaning against the doorframe and giving her a small smile.

Viletta glanced over and returned his smile with one of her own. "Hey Kuro." She said, closing her book and getting up from her bed. She, much like Kurogané, had grown taller as well, the only really noticeable changes were that her chest was developing into that of a woman's and the hair around her face was longer, almost touching her shoulders, though the rest remained cut short.

Her outfit had changed as well, and consisted of a black tube top that covered her chest, only showing off a tiny bit of cleavage. The shirt was long, stopping just past her rear, with slits up the sides. And over her shirt she wore a sleeveless vest that tied around her neck and revealed a small portion of her back. She had on tight black ninja pants and black ninja shoes with elbow length, fingerless gloves on her arms. She still had a crimson red sash tied around her waist, the ends hanging behind her to her knees, and her kunai holster strapped to her thigh.

"You wanna go on a mission with me?" he asked as she walked towards him. "I just have to take a scroll to Iwasaki, and pick up some rock candy for Izumi, so nothing fancy. But I figured you might want to come keep me company."

Viletta arched a curious brow as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her smile slowly turned to a smirk as she shook her head, "You mean, you got stuck with a lame mission and don't want to be bored so you're dragging me along with you."

A smirk came to his face. "Maybe. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I just thought we could keep each other," he reached out and ran his fingers through her bangs, stroking her cheek as he did so, "entertained." He finished, letting his hand fall to his side.

Her suspicious gaze only grew until she laughed and walked past him. "I'm sure you could 'entertain' yourself. So I think I'll need a little bit more incentive to go." Viletta snickered as he followed her into the kitchen, where she grabbed a fresh cookie from the tray.

Kurogané placed his hands on the counter and leaned against it, trapping her between his arms. "Maybe I just want to spend time with you." he murmured, letting the tip of his nose skim along her cheek until his mouth was next to her ear. "Away from the village, our families…just the two of us, on a mission that isn't dangerous, so we can take our time getting back." He reasoned.

"Well now…" she said softly, trying to look at him from the corner of her eye. "That does sound…tempting."

He smiled against her skin, before kissing her there. "So is that a yes?" the Uchiha asked, beginning to nibble on her earlobe.

Viletta had to grab onto the counter to steady herself as her breathing picked up. "I'd love to go with you." She said breathlessly.

"Great." Kurogané's smile widened victoriously, and he began to slowly trail his hands up her arms.

"Oh would you two just get a room already if you're going to do stuff like that?!" Valencia huffed as she entered the kitchen. She walked over to them and shoved them slightly, causing Kurogané to release his 'captive' as she grabbed a cookie. "Seriously." She muttered, taking a bite and leaving.

The dark haired girl blinked, a huge blush spreading across her cheeks from her sister's bluntness. "Well…I um…" she fumbled around with her fingers. "I guess I should go get some stuff together." She pointed off to her room, ducking under his arms and disappearing down the hall.

Kurogané sighed, deciding to go into the living room and wait for her there. He took off his sword, setting it beside him on the couch. Valencia was in there as well, flipping through the channels on the television as she finished her snack. "So are you ever gonna ask her out?" the green haired girl asked, not even looking at him.

"I don't see why that's your business." He said, leaning back against the cushions.

"She's my sister, of course it's my business." Valencia glanced over at him. "Besides, your mom asked me the other day for her measurements, and I'm telling you, it gets harder every time to figure that out without Lettie getting suspicious."

He rolled his eyes, not believing his mother was still doing that. "Well whenever you get a boyfriend, I'll answer your questions pertaining to me and Viletta." He smirked. "Do you even like boys yet?"

She huffed. "Of course I do!" she crossed her arms in a pout. "I even have a particular guy…but he doesn't really notice me. At least not yet." She smiled.

"Uh huh." Kurogané said, disbelieving. "That's what they always say." He glanced down the hall, seeing Viletta emerge from her room. He picked up his sword and stood, fastening it on his back. "You ready to go?"

"Yup." She nodded, waving to her sister. "Bye Val, tell mom and dad I'm out on a mission. I'll be back soon."

"Have fun!" Valencia waved, giving her sister a knowing look.

Viletta gave her a small smile, before heading towards the door and leaving with Kurogané. They made their way down the street, both silent as they took in the beautiful day. "So…what were you and Valencia talking about?" the dark haired girl asked curiously, avoiding his gaze.

Kurogané glanced at her. "Apparently she likes a boy." He said, not telling her the whole truth.

"Huh…" she paused, frowning in slight disappointment. "Well that's cool. Did she tell you who, cause she won't tell me."

"I didn't get the chance to ask. All she said was that he doesn't really notice her yet. But from the sound of it she was going to make that change." He told her. "Oh, she also sent your measurements to my mother again." He rolled his eyes.

"Really?" she perked up slightly, glancing over at him before quickly away.

He nodded. "Yeah, she was complaining about how hard it's getting to do without you finding out. Guess she didn't plan on the fact that we tell each other everything, so now you know."

Viletta just huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't know why she goes through all that trouble. All your mom has to do is ask."

"Every time I ask why she says it's a surprise." Kurogané sighed. "Or pretends she doesn't know what I'm talking about." His brow furrowed then. "Wait…how come you're suddenly so willing to give them to her?" he asked, looking at the ebony haired girl. "What changed?"

"Huh?" she blinked, looking over at him with an innocent smile. "Whatever do you mean?" she wondered, before taking off since they were at the gates.

He growled, following after her. "You know what I mean." He said once he was beside her as they leapt through the trees. "You used to hate it when she took your measurements, and you thought it was all stupid. So how come you're not upset about it anymore?"

"Because I just don't." She huffed, unable to stop the blush from appearing on her face. "It's not that big of a deal really, I mean…why not be…ready?" she wondered, meeting his gaze for only a second.

He blinked, before moving closer to her. "Are you…trying to say something?" he asked. Everyone and their mother knew that Uchiha Izayoi took his and Viletta's measurements for one reason and one reason only. Their wedding. She already had the entire event planned out, even what Viletta's dress would look like. This way, when it ever happened, _if_ it did, all she had to do was send in everyone's measurements and they'd be married within the week.

"No…" she grumbled, now on the defensive. "I was just…thinking is all…"

A slight frown came to his face as he looked off. "Oh…okay." He said, keeping the disappointment from his voice. He'd been hoping she would tell him of her true feelings…that way he would know whether or not she'd turn him down when he eventually made his move. But it seemed like she wasn't ready for anything like that, and so he would have to continue waiting for a time when it would be appropriate.

They travelled in silence the rest of the way, and when they reached Iwasaki they turned in the scroll to the daimyo of the area. Once that was taken care of, they wandered the streets, looking for the candy shop so that Kurogané could keep his promise to Izumi. When they found it, he decided to get two of every flavor, just in case. Viletta told him she didn't want anything when he'd asked, and so they headed out once more.

Seeing that the sun was beginning to set, his jade gaze moved over to his companion. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked. "Or camp out?"

"Whatever you want to do." she shrugged, seeming disinterested.

He thought about it. "Well…I know this place…it's kinda cool." He smiled slightly. "So if you wanna see it, we'd be staying outside tonight."

"Well let's get some food then to take with us, cause' I'm hungry." She said, looking around for the market.

"Okay." He said, following her when she headed off in a direction.

Viletta did most of the shopping, getting some instant ramen and dried meat, as well as some chips and snacks to last them throughout the night. Once they paid and had all their things, she offered him one of the bags. "Alright, ready to head out to this special place." She smiled.

Kurogané returned the gesture. "Follow me then." He said, leading her out of the village. They travelled through the woods a ways, reaching the place just as the sun was almost finished setting. "Here we are." Kurogané smiled, pushing some of the foliage aside and allowing Viletta a look. It was a tranquil lake, and the entire scene looked like one from a fairy tale book it was so beautiful.

"Wow." She gasped, walking forward and looking over the scenery. "It's beautiful."

"When I found it the first time, I knew I'd bring you here eventually to see it." the Uchiha admitted, following her and setting his stuff down so that he could set up camp. "It made me think of you."

Her eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at him. "Really? How come?"

He walked over to her. "Because it's soothing," he reached up and brushed her bangs aside, "beautiful," he murmured, cupping her cheek, "and special." He whispered, stroking her skin with his thumb.

Viletta smiled at him, leaning into his hand. "Thanks." She said softly, before hugging him tightly. He returned her embrace, laying his head on top of hers.

"Anytime." He replied, savoring their connection in this moment. After a while, he pulled away from her. "Now come on, we need to get the fire built before we lose all of our light." He smiled.

"But it's going to be a full moon tonight." She blinked, helping him set up the tent and their campsite.

He glanced up at the sky as he moved to get the firewood. "So it is." He said. He gathered the wood and soon, they had a small fire going. "Do you agree with what some f the more superstitious people say?" he asked. "About the full moon making people act out of character and do odd things?"

"Of course not." She huffed, pulling out their food as she began to prepare it for them. "That's silly. People automatically act different at night no matter what."

"What makes you say that?" he wondered, taking his sword off and propping it against their tent before taking a seat next to her.

"Well people usually have sex at night…right? And sneak out of their houses…and throw parties and act out. I mean it just seems like the time people act bolder and stuff." She explained, offering him his ramen and some jerky.

"I never thought of it that way." Kurogané said, taking it from her and beginning to eat. He smirked. "Although…you are the more perverted of us." He snickered, nudging her teasingly.

Viletta rolled her eyes. "So you're quieter at the act than me, big whoop. Doesn't mean I don't know you do it. _A lot_." She smirked, looking back over at him.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "I wouldn't have to do it that much if you didn't always do things that make the need…arise." He defended, slurping down the rest of his dinner.

"How is that my fault?" she gasped, setting her hands on her hips.

He sighed. "Because when you walk your hips sway this certain way, and sometimes you get this really cute look on your face, or just wear something that really shows off your curves…and when we go on missions sometimes…I hear you doing it…so I do it too…" he blushed slightly, glancing off.

Viletta stared at him, her eyes wide and her cheeks red. "So…you…masturbate to…me?" she asked softly, pressing her thighs together, since the thought of him doing such an act was turning her on.

He pressed his lips together, the heat in his face only making it worse. "…all the time." He admitted.

She smiled, glancing up at the now dark sky and the large moon rising over the trees. She looked back at the lake and stood, reaching behind her and undoing her top before she started to strip off all her clothes as she made her way towards the lake. Kurogané watched her with a wide gaze, his eyes glued to her body. A body that he hadn't seen since he was a boy. She stopped at the edge, now fully naked, and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Well what are you waiting for?" she asked.

The Uchiha looked up at her face, then back to her rear, before her face once more. Suddenly he stood, as if realizing just then that she had spoken to him. He quickly pulled off his shoes, his shirt following shortly after as he made his way towards her. And just as he was next to her, he stopped, placing his hands on the edge of his boxers and pushing them down, keeping his gaze locked with hers. His body was practically thrumming with excitement and nervousness at finally being naked with her, and all of the possibilities this brought on.

"I've always wanted to go skinny dipping." She said softly, leaning against him and allowing her breasts to press against his chest. Though, before he could do anything, she pulled away and ran off into the water, laughing at the splashes she made. "It's cold!" she announced, diving in once she was deep enough.

Kurogané shook his head to try and clear it, before walking towards the water. He got in at a slower pace than she did, diving beneath the surface once the water reached his knees. When he emerged, he swam over to her. "It's not so bad once you get used to it." he smiled slightly. "So…what else have you always wanted to do that you never have?"

"I've always wanted to chop off all of your sister's hair." She smirked.

He chuckled, picturing Izumi with short, messy hair. "Now that…would be funny. But also disastrous, and I would rather not deal with the repercussions."

"You would protect me." Viletta smiled, moving closer to him, since they were both standing, the water just below her shoulders. "Wouldn't you?" she asked, staring up at him as she placed her hand on his chest.

"You have to ask?" He wondered, placing a hand over hers and holding it there. "I will always protect you."

Her smile grew, if possible, and she moved even closer, leaning up a bit so their lips were almost touching. "You know something else I've always wanted to do?" she asked, their closeness causing her breasts to press against his chest once more and this time, he could feel her hardened nipples against his flesh.

He swallowed visibly, his member beginning to stir in excitement from just the feel of her chest. "Wh…what?" he asked softly.

"Well you remember, that time in Snow, when you…kissed me down there?" she blushed, letting her free hand smooth down his chiseled chest and trail lightly along his hard shaft. "Maybe this time…you could kiss me with this." She whispered, boldly grabbing his member.

Kurogané jerked at her actions, his eyes wide in surprise as his erection grew in her hand. "Hah…Viletta…" he breathed out, trying to regain control of himself so that he didn't just cum right then and there. This was his fantasy after all, but it was so much different to have her touching him than him touching himself and pretending it was her. He met her gaze. "You…want to have sex?"

She nodded, biting down on her lower lip. "Well…I mean…maybe…cause' I was…um…I heard Valencia ask you…about…you and me."

"You mean…on whether or not I was going to ask you out?" he asked, using all the strength he had in him not to just grip her hand and make her rub his shaft.

"Yeah." Viletta swallowed. "S-so…I was just curious…you know…about what you thought about that." She said, her nervousness causing her grip to tighten.

Kurogané took in a sharp breath as he moved forward in her hand, wanting more. "Why complicate things?" he tried not to moan, giving in and gripping her hand to make her squeeze him more.

Viletta blinked, pulling away from him and releasing his member. "What?" she asked, her eyes wide and vulnerable.

He held in a growl of his dislike of her having let go of his dick. "That would complicate everything." He tried to explain. "We have a good thing now…so why change it?"

She looked down, trying with all her might not to cry. She couldn't cry, if she did, she might hurt him, even though she _really_ wanted to. She took a deep breath and straightened, meeting his hazy gaze. "You're right." She nodded. "Why change anything." Viletta turned back to the shore and treaded back. "I'm really tired. I'm going to dry off and go to sleep."

"Okay…" the Uchiha blinked, confused at her change in demeanor. Why wasn't she jacking him off? He blew out a breath in a pout as he watched her gather her clothes and dry off. And once she disappeared into their tent, Kurogané felt safe enough to grip his still hard member and begin rubbing. After all, she'd left him so backed up, if he didn't do anything about it now sleep would be very uncomfortable for him.

And when he was finished, he joined her in the tent to sleep, his now clear mind still muddled at what was going on with his friend. Sometimes, he just didn't understand girls at all.


	8. Shifted

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Eight_

-Shifted-

_**One Year Later…**_

Viletta let out a long sigh as she sat under one of the cherry blossom trees in one of Konoha's many parks. She was meeting her sister here when she got done with her team meeting, so until then, the dark haired teen was stuck thinking about her stupid best friend. At the thought of her stupid Uchiha, Viletta practically simmered. He was such an idiot. How could he not see that she wanted to be so much more than just friends?

But when she'd made the initiative last year, he'd gone and said something stupid. "Why complicate things." She scoffed, glaring off as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She couldn't even believe he had said that. He always spouted about how she was his and that he would always be with her. That nothing would ever happen to her while he had anything to do about it. Then a dreaded thought shot through her. What if he really did only see her as a friend? After all, she had been naked that night and touching his most sensitive parts. What man would deny sex from a woman? And considering the fact that Kurogané practically idolized Uchiha Noriaki, it all made sense.

Now she was angry. He was just taking advantage of the fact his best friend was a girl. She huffed and rested her chin on her knees. Well she was glad she hadn't let him see her naked since. If he just wanted to stay best friends, she would make sure they only acted like proper best friends. She'd go out and find herself a boyfriend to show him he was not allowed to use her like that.

But then, she deflated. No other boy had even shown a slight interest in her, other than the initial comment that she was really pretty for an emo. She groaned out, trying not to fall in her own misery. "Viletta?" she heard her name and looked up, only to see Sakimori making his way towards her.

"Hey Sakimori." She sighed, taking in his appearance. He was a tall, lanky Uchiha, a bit thinner than Kurogané, but he was taller than the other boy. Sakimori had grown into an extremely handsome young man, much like all of the Uchiha boys. His black locks picked up in the wind, the frosted tips making him look more dangerous than he really was.

"You okay?" he asked softly, sitting beside her, though at a comfortable distance. The eldest Uchiha of the fourth generation had always been a bit on the shy side, and he never made physical contact with anyone unless absolutely necessary.

Viletta sighed, straightening a bit. "Is it that obvious I'm upset?"

"Well you are huffing and sighing in the middle of the park." He chuckled.

She simply stuck out her tongue at him, already feeling her down mood lighten. "I'm just…depressed I guess."

Sakimori frowned, meeting her gaze. "How come?"

"I want a boyfriend." She huffed, leaning back and propping herself up with her hands.

The Uchiha blinked, turning a slight red. "You want a b-boyfriend?"

"Well yeah, I mean, I'm sixteen and the farthest I've ever gone was that time Kurogané asked if he could see my vagina." She let her head fall back as she groaned. "And I'm not going to lie, I really want to see what sex is like, or at least foreplay."

The dark haired boy just stared off, his eyes wide and a dark red blush on his face. "Wow…well…um…I know of someone…who would really like to be with you." He said softly, making her look over at him.

"Really?" she blinked, appearing interested.

"Y-Yeah…I know he really likes you, he just…can't find the words." Sakimori nodded.

Viletta stared at the back of his head, a smile coming to her features. "Is that so?" she giggled, her head filling with the information he was giving her.

"Yeah." He nodded, glancing back at her, the blush still on his face. His gaze shifted past her and his eyes widened slightly, before he stood. Sakimori gave Viletta a small smile. "I hope you feel better…we should…hang out sometime…if you're ever feeling down."

"Okay." She smiled, her heart swelling as he waved and hurried off. The dark haired girl glanced to where she'd seen Sakimori look and was met with the smiling and bubbly face of her younger sister.

"Lettie!" she waved, stopping beside her but looking after Sakimori. "What were you and Sakimori talking about?"

Viletta's smile grew as she got up and took her sister's hands in her own. "Val, I…I think that Sakimori likes me!" she declared, actually squealing. Finally, someone was admitting their like for her. Sure, it was in a weird sort of third person way. But it still felt great.

Valencia's hazel eyes widened slightly and she glanced at the Uchiha before looking to her sister. "What?" she asked. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, he came over to make me feel better cause' I've been really down about the whole Kurogané thing for a while. So I was talking about getting a boyfriend and he said that someone really liked me, someone who was not very good with words. Which is totally him! He's always been shy and he was blushing. I mean, it's _so_ obvious now." She smiled, practically glowing.

The younger girl frowned. "Oh…" she hid the expression before her sister noticed. "Well how do you feel about him? I thought you were in love with Kurogané."

"I am…I mean…" she paused, shaking her head. "I _was_ in love with him. But…I like Sakimori too. He's really nice…and stuff. It's easy to…you know, love people." Viletta smiled at her sister.

"I guess it's easy to fall out of love with people too." The green haired girl shook her head. "I can't believe you're just giving up on Kurogané like this. He's going to be devastated when he finds out you like his cousin."

Viletta huffed up, glaring at her sister as she placed her hands on her hips. "I was naked with him in a lake Val and he told me that he didn't want to complicate things and wanted them to stay the same as they were." She snapped, finally admitting the most heart breaking night of her life aloud.

She blinked, looking off as she absorbed this new information. "I'm not saying I agree with his actions over the years. I'm just saying that when it comes to you weird, quiet people, you have to look _way_ underneath the underneath to even hope at getting a glimpse of what you're really thinking or feeling." She smiled slightly at her elder. "I learned that from living with you Lettie." She giggled, hugging her around the waist.

The dark haired girl smiled, hugging her sister back. "I know…but I do know him and he's completely honest with me." She sighed. "And he adores Uchiha Noriaki and we _all_ know about that one."

"But we also know that he's completely faithful to Hikari-sama, and adores her." Valencia said, pulling away from her. "And he's a family man, completely dedicated to the Clan, and his friends."

"Not until he was older though and I will _not_ be one of Kurogané's wild oats." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

She giggled. "I doubt you could be Lettie, cause' he hasn't sewn any oats at all according to my sources."

"I'm just saying." She huffed. "What if it all starts with me?"

"Then you get your little fantasy out of the way, and you both have the best night of your lives." Valencia teased, patting her sister's cheek. "Or, maybe in the throes of passion is when he'll confess his undying love for you."

"He's had like ten years of chances at confessing that." Viletta grumbled, taking her sister's hand and pulling her towards Konoha. "Now come on, let's get some lunch."

Valencia smiled, walking next to her sister. "I am so hungry." She said. "I didn't eat breakfast this morning cause' I wanted to sleep in as long as possible before my meeting."

"Well then we'll go somewhere that does big portions of food, cause' I'm hungry too." The dark haired teen nodded, excitement running through as she thought about her new love interest.

* * *

Kurogané glared out at the training field he and his cousins used in the Uchiha District as he twirled a kunai around his finger. Viletta was acting weird, and it was pissing him off. She wouldn't even tell him what it was.

Actually, now that he thought about it, she'd been acting weird ever since that night they'd gone skinny dipping. She never let him see her naked, or even wrapped in a towel, and she didn't touch him as much as she used too. Then, to top it all off, whenever he made a move to touch her or be close to her, she evaded him, or pushed him away. Oh sure, she was always nice about it, and always had some good excuse, but he knew something else was going on with her. He just couldn't figure out what.

But it had to be something bad, because she'd even stopped kissing his pretend bruises. He'd been too afraid of upsetting her to kiss her bruises, since he didn't want to be rejected again, so he'd stopped as well.

He didn't like it. Not one bit. And if he had his way, he'd know what the hell was wrong with her before the week was over. Because he couldn't take much more of this. He glanced over as his cousin began to make his way towards him, before returning his brooding stare to the demolished area where he'd previously been training. "Hey." He said.

"How you doing?" Sakimori asked, looking his cousin over. "You seem…distracted."

"Viletta is acting…different. And I don't like it." Kurogané said, tossing the kunai out onto the field and watching it hit the target in the center. "But she won't tell me why."

The elder frowned. "I thought you two told each other everything."

He shrugged. "Not anymore I guess." He looked off, his hands clenching into fists. "…she doesn't kiss my bruises anymore." He admitted.

"Well that was kind of weird." He shrugged. "Maybe she realized it."

Kurogané hit his fist to the ground. "Then she could at least say so instead of stopping and making me feel like I did something wrong!" he shouted, his true anger leaking out a bit.

"Maybe you did do something wrong." Sakimori sighed. "I spoke with her a couple weeks ago, she was very sad. She thinks no one likes her romantically."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Well that's a lie. _I_ like her that way." he pointed to his chest. "The only reason nobody else does is because I scare the shit out of them whenever they even _think_ about asking her out."

"Really?" Sakimori blinked, seeming surprised.

"Yup." The younger boy nodded.

"What did you do?"

"Usually all I have to do is use a little sand and they run for the hills." Kurogané sighed. "And if not, I use my sharingan. Not to put them in a genjutsu, just as a bluff. They don't really push it after that. Though I did burn this one kid, cause' he said I was too chicken to actually hurt him."

The elder Uchiha shook his head, smiling slightly. "Wow…so why not just tell her you're in love with her?"

He looked back out at the field. "It's not like I've never tried. But every time I'm about to we either get interrupted or she starts acting weird and walks off…and with this new behavior…I don't think she wants to pursue a relationship with me. I think she just wants to be friends. Normal friends."

"Kuro…" Sakimori smiled, taking his cousin by the shoulders and meeting his gaze. "I've been on a team with you a Viletta since we were eleven. You two are in love with each other. Maybe you just need to be a man and tell her you love her. She's a teenage girl, she's got all those hormones right now so of course she's being weird."

"Yeah well that's easy for you to say Mori. When was the last time you talked to a girl without stuttering or blushing?" he asked. "That _wasn't_ part of the family."

The other boy just sighed. "Kuro…I really wish you'd stop using other people's weakness to justify your own. Either man up and tell her you love her or just admit you're scared." He huffed.

Kurogané opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted when they heard their names from across the field. Two girls ran towards them, one was Izumi, her long black locks cascading around her and stopping just past her waist, the streak of white on the right side of her head now more prominent. "Kuro! Mori!" Izumi called once more.

The girl beside her was a bit more slender, with midnight black hair falling around her shoulders, framing her violet eyes. Sakimori blinked, turning to his cousin and sister. "Izumi? Kairi? What are you doing here?"

"Oh my gosh!" Izumi exploded. "You guys will never believe what we just found out!"

Kairi giggled. "It's HUGE!" she threw her arms open. "Like, you would never suspect it _ever_."

Kurogané deadpanned. "Is this something we're going to care about?" he asked, feeling his interest in the matter already begin to wane.

Izumi turned her stormy grey gaze to her brother. "Oh you'll care, bobo." She smirked. "So Kairi heard from Emiko, who heard from Shusui, whose cousin heard from Valencia…" she continued on, only making both males grow bored until her final words left her mouth. "Viletta likes Sakimori!"

There was silence amongst the group for a few seconds, before Kurogané glared at his sister, though it wasn't directed at her. "What." He asked, his voice dangerously low.

"Viletta likes Mori!" Kairi repeated. "So now Mori has a chance with a girl!" she giggled, the sound being cut off by a gasp when suddenly Kurogané had tackled her brother to the ground and was trying to strangle him.

"How dare you!" he shouted, his jade eyes now red in their fury.

"Kuro!" Izumi and Kairi yelled together, trying to pull off the angry boy from the other.

Sakimori gasped out for air as the girls held him back. "Wh-what did I do?!"

Kurogané growled, struggling against the girls. "You made Viletta like you! She's supposed to like me! _Love_ me!" he jerked his arm free, and suddenly a tentacle of sand shot up from the ground and went straight for Sakimori.

The other boy flipped back, avoiding a deadly blow as his sharingan swirled into action. "I didn't make her like me!" Sakimori tried to explain. "I don't even know why she likes me!" His eyes widened when another wave of sand shot at him, which he evaded with the aid of his lightning.

"Kurogané!" Izumi yelled. "Stop it!" Though, it did nothing to stop his advances on Sakimori, who had no choice but to fight back. Until suddenly his sand slammed to the ground and a burst of fire and lightning shot between the two boys, keeping them away from each other.

"Just what the _fuck_ do you two think you're doing?!" Noriaki shouted, since him, Kanamé, and Izayoi all appeared around the training field.

"Are you out of your mind Kurogané?!" Izayoi snapped, her crimson gaze focused on her son.

Kurogané didn't even register his mother's words, his gaze glued to his older cousin. He straightened himself out, stalking towards the other boy as a slow, sadistic smile made its way to his face. "We're just having a little training session…" he said, holding out his right hand, which slowly began to become engulfed in flames, while his left crackled with lightning. "I'm trying to teach Mori a lesson." He shot both arms forward, sending a combined attack of fire and lightning towards Sakimori, only to have the attack blocked by his uncles' and mother's sand. He growled, glaring at them. "Don't interfere! He won't learn if he doesn't handle it himself!"

Noriaki glared at his nephew. "You little brat, you better watch your temper and your tone." He growled, his own fire sparking at his fingertips.

"Dad." Sakimori called, shaking his head. "It's okay. I can handle myself." He looked forward, his gaze shifting into a small glare. "It's your own fault Kurogané! Stop blaming everyone else for your _weakness_!" he yelled, fire and lightning climbing up his own arms as his sharingan twirled and he shot forward, aiming a barrage of fireballs at his cousin.

"I am not weak!" Kurogané ran forward as well, his fireballs connecting with his cousin's and causing multiple explosions. Through the clouds of smoke and dust, everyone could see the large bolts of lightning soothing up and out, and could only assume it was when the two teenagers collided. And when the smoke finally began to clear, it revealed the two boys locked together, their hands gripping each other's as they continued to flame and crack with their elements. Their arms were visibly shaking, an extreme amount of effort being put forth to try and be the one to throw the other off.

"You _are_ weak!" Sakimori yelled. "You can't even tell the girl you love that you love her! Everyone knows! _Everyone_! And now you're mad at me cause' _you _probably messed up! Instead of being a jerk and trying to kill me, why don't you try and fix it yourself! I don't like her like that! I know she's yours!"

Kurogané smirked darkly. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now, _cousin_." He spat the term, pushing him back and releasing his hands. He seemed to begin to calm down then, because his flames and lightning slowly died, his hands forming into fists at his sides. "Though it's nice to know whose side you're on. It really puts things in perspective." He said, before his sand whirled around him and he was gone without a trace.

Izayoi glared at the spot her son had been and disappeared as well. Noriaki and Kanamé glanced at one another, before the Hokage took his leave as well. "Girls. Sakimori." Noriaki ordered, turning to leave. "Let's go."

Kairi glanced at her father, before running up to her brother and hugging him quickly. "You did good Mori." She smiled up at him, kissing his cheek before turning and following their sire, since she didn't want him to become any angrier than he already was.

Izumi looked at her cousin before following after her uncle. Something told her this was going to be brought up to the patriarchs of the family, and getting yelled at by Grandma Natsumi was never fun for anyone involved.

* * *

Kurogané let out a loud, angry yell as he shot sand, fire, and lightning at the empty, desolate buildings in the farthest corner of the Uchiha District. He just didn't understand any of it. It was confusing him, and making him angry, and that was just pissing him off. Not to mention the hurt that had stabbed through him at the knowledge that the girl he loved, body and soul, wanted his cousin. And not just any cousin, his rival, in almost every aspect.

He screamed again, watching a building collapse and putting the fire out with his sand as he started destroying another one. He felt like he was going to explode, and he needed to get all of this pent up energy and anger out before he did. Lashing out with his sand, he brought down another building before he felt the other presence in the area.

Immediately he stopped what he was doing and turned around, his sharingan locking with his mother's. And in that instant, he felt the need to be the small, carefree boy he once was. So he ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head on her shoulder. "Mommy." His eyes clenched shut, and his body shook with a mixture of needing to hold his anger and pain in, and the desire to cry. "I'm sorry."

For the first time in his life, Izayoi did not return his embrace and Kurogané could feel her sand moving about in an irritated fashion. "You tried to kill your cousin." She said lowly. "In front of your sister and Kairi. There better be a _fantastic_ explanation for your _absolute_ disregard and embarrassment to me."

His lips thinned as he turned his head so he could bury it in her neck somewhat and inhale her calming fragrance. "Viletta…she's been acting weird lately and not letting me touch her…she doesn't even take care of my fake bruises…and when I asked her about it, she'd never tell me…and she always tells me everything. It's like she's putting this distance between us…trying to change things…" he tried to explain. "And it's because she…likes Mori." He admitted softly. "Not me."

Izayoi's brow marred, but this time it was with confusion. "What?" she asked softly, pulling out of his grasp before cupping his cheeks and making him look up at her now jade depths. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, his light gaze swimming with hurt, confusion, and pain. "Kairi heard from Emiko, who heard from Shusui, whose cousin heard from Valencia." He said. "Viletta tells her sister pretty much everything."

The older woman had to stop herself from laughing as she shook her head, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "Oh Kurogané. You're so silly. Why don't you just ask her yourself? To be sure. After all, this is hearsay…from your sister and Kairi nonetheless."

Kurogané frowned. "But what if it's true? What if she prefers Mori over me? Then how I feel doesn't even matter anymore, because if he makes her happy I'm not going to get in the way of that." he sighed. "I just want her to be happy."

"Oh just shut up you little emo." She shook him a bit. "I know for a fact that Viletta loves you. Whatever this is must be some defense mechanism…or…or something stupid in her head. Girls are just as confused as boys. You need to be a man and an Uchiha and take your woman back! I haven't spent ten years planning the perfect wedding for you to drop the ball now. You're soul mates!" she declared with a bright smile.

He couldn't help but smile slightly. "…you think so?" he asked.

"I know so sweetheart. Just make sure you don't stay anything stupid." Izayoi laughed, tapping his nose with her finger. "So go and find her. Tell her how you feel."

He nodded. "Okay." He hugged her once more. "Thanks mom. I…I'm sorry I disgraced you today. I will fix everything, I promise.

"Good." She pat his head, winking at him. "And stop being mean to your cousin, he's such a sweetie. He can't take your vicious outbursts." She snickered.

He blew a raspberry at her. "Could've fooled me." he smirked, before his sand carried him off to where his lady love was at the moment.

* * *

Viletta stood on one of Konoha's many bridges. She had an ice cream cone in her hand and was currently licking the cold treat as she stared out into the water, smiling as she thought about the present she was getting Kurogané for his birthday, since it was coming up fairly soon. He'd be so excited once he saw it.

She felt someone come up behind her then, and before she could turn to see who it was, they spoke, answering her question. "Hey."

"Hey Kuro." She smiled, turning her whole body to see her friend as she continued to eat her treat. Her light expression fell as she took in his demeanor. "You okay? You seem kinda dark."

Kurogané shrugged, stepping a bit closer to her. "I just…heard something earlier…and I wanted to ask you about it." He glanced down before meeting her gaze.

"Okay." She blinked, now looking worried. "What is it?"

"I heard…well…" he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck a bit nervously. "That you…like…Sakimori."

Viletta eyes widened slightly. "Oh…" she frowned, looking off, not understanding why she suddenly felt so guilty for her interest in the other Uchiha. "Um…yeah…kinda." She admitted, looking back up at him. "I mean…he likes me, so ever since he kinda sorta told me, I've thought about it." She said, her stomach dropping from the change of his expression. "Why…? Does it…matter?" she asked, unable to stop the hope that swelled up and caused her to have a lump in her throat. "To you, I mean." She squeaked out.

His lips thinned as he tried to reign in his automatic response to her words. Because he knew without a doubt that Sakimori didn't like Viletta romantically. His cousin had said so himself, Viletta was his, and therefore, off-limits. But she liked him. Even if she said she'd started thinking about it after Sakimori's 'confession', that didn't matter. A part of her had liked his cousin from the start, for her to consider what it would be like if they dated. Meaning she didn't truly, really want him. "Well…he's my cousin…and you're my best friend…so…it's a little…weird." He got out, letting his hand drop to his side.

"That's…" she blinked, trying to keep the tears from even forming. "That's it? It's only…weird cause' he's your cousin? Nothing else?" she tried to throw him a lifeline. Why did she want him to be mad so badly? She wanted him to grab her by the arms and kiss her, right there in the open telling her that she was his and he wanted to be her boyfriend. But of course, he just stared at her.

"I just…don't know if it's going to work out, and I don't want you to get hurt." He said eventually, dying inside because now he couldn't tell her of his true feelings. "I only ever want you to be happy."

Viletta couldn't stop the frown that appeared on her face. "Well, you're not that good at it…" she grumbled, looking down before she started to walk off. "See you tomorrow Kuro…" she said softly, unable stop herself from shedding one, black tear.

Kurogané winced, "Ow." He tried to control the pain shooting down his spine from his eye, and lifted his hand, touching just beneath his eye where somehow a tear had managed to fall. But when he pulled his hand away to look at it, his fingertip was spotted with a black, ink-like liquid. He frowned, recognizing it as he looked up to ask Viletta what was wrong, only to find that she was gone.

He slowly formed a fist, clenching his teeth as he tried to keep his emotions in check. Unable to suppress it, he let his sand take him back to the Uchiha District, where he decided he would finish demolishing those buildings. After all, they no longer served a purpose, and it seemed he was beginning to fail at his purpose of being Viletta's best friend. It seemed this was one case where an Uchiha would not get what they wanted, nor were they man enough to just tell someone how they felt.

Sighing, he fell back into a pile of ash that had gathered and stared up at the sky when all of his chakra was spent. Seeing the full moon, he couldn't help but think back on that night he'd taken her to his special place, and how somehow, ever since then, he'd destroyed the most wonderful thing in his life. Something he would probably never get back.


	9. Tangled Ties

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Nine_

-Tangled Ties-

Sakimori let out a tired breath as he leaned back on the bench he was sitting at. It had been almost a whole month since the Viletta fiasco and so far things couldn't be worse. Well, they could, luckily Kurogané wasn't trying to kill him anymore, but he still got the cold shoulder from his cousin. Not that he spent too much time actually talking with the younger man anyways, but when Kurogané ignored you and practically hated you, you knew it.

He couldn't believe everything that was happening. Viletta had tried to hang out with him more and more, though Sakimori mostly thought that was because Kurogané was avoiding her, which only made her sadder. It was times like these that Sakimori just wanted to drag those two off and shove their faces together. Even now that she 'liked' him, he still saw the connection between her and his cousin.

It was still there and still strong, they were both just too stupid and stubborn to be the first one to admit it. He sighed once more and nearly jumped when he heard some say his name from right beside him. He fell forward a bit, catching himself and whipping around to see Valencia smiling brightly at him. "O-Oh…V-Valencia…wh-what a surprise." He tried to smile, but his embarrassed blush only made him look awkward.

"Hello!" Valencia's smile widened as she took a seat next to the Uchiha, situating herself so that she was facing him. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Just…th-thinking." He bumbled out, facing forward and focusing on a nearby tree.

"Do you do that a lot?" she asked, still smiling, and surprisingly undeterred by his shy, quiet behavior. "Cause' I see you off alone all the time, unless your sister is around, or you're with your team. Although, today is a really pretty day, and I find it's nice sometimes to just sit and enjoy the weather. After all, it's so rare that we get time to just sit and relax, huh? Especially you, since you're an Uchiha and go on _way_ more missions than I do."

He shrugged. "I don't…re-really like being…around p-people." He admitted, but then his eyes widened and he looked over at her. "It's not…p-personal or anything…j-just me."

She waved it off. "Don't worry about offending me or anything. Viletta is my sister after all, so I understand what you mean." The green haired girl laughed.

Sakimori nodded and faced forward once more. "I…I don't understand…I th-think she mistook me…c-consoling her as me liking her…b-but I was talking about K-Kuro."

Valencia perked up at this information. "Really? Well that explains a lot." She said, contemplatively tapping her chin. "She's been very depressed lately, ever since Kuro found out she liked you and all. I wish they'd stop being so dumb and just confess to one another already. Their weird thing was cute at first, but now it's just annoying." She sighed. "And I'm tired of Lettie coming home with a sad heart."

"Kurogané won't talk to anyone anymore…" Sakimori said softly, though he was glad he didn't sound as nervous. Perhaps he could learn to get used to Valencia easier, because her and Viletta had similar traits. "Not even his mom."

"No offense, but Kuro's an idiot." She huffed, crossing her arms. "If he'd just get over himself and tell Lettie how he feels, I know she'll do the same. Because no matter what she says, she's still in love with him. I don't think she even realized how much until he started avoiding her." she said. "I just don't understand why boys never see what's right in front of them until it's too late. Whether or not the girl is obvious in her feelings, even tiny hints are easy to see if you look hard enough." Valencia's hazel gaze slid over to Sakimori then, since she had been talking about more than just Kurogané, and was hoping he might take the hint.

"Because boys don't read between the lines." He said simply. "Not to mention being an Uchiha gives you an extra dosage of stupidity concerning th-these things…" he blushed once more.

"So…in this case, it would just be best if the girl stated her feelings? To avoid all of the confusion and angst that usually happens when an Uchiha has a romantic interest." Valencia clarified, since everyone knew how practically all of the older Uchihas got with their partners.

Sakimori nodded. "I believe so at least."

Valencia took in this information, and fidgeted slightly as she tried to make up her mind. She should tell him. At least so he knew. She knew Viletta kind of liked him, but she'd had a crush on Sakimori for years, she just never had the courage to tell him. They'd talked a few times, and she always thought his awkward shyness was absolutely adorable, but it was never more than a passing greeting or acknowledgement. But she didn't want to freak him out either. This was actually the most they'd ever talked, so if she told him, would he avoid her? And when Viletta found out, would she be mad? But if she didn't say anything, she risked losing her chance.

"I like you!" she suddenly declared, looking back at Sakimori's stunned profile. A blush made its way to her face, and she bit her lip in a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness.

"Huh?" he blinked, his cheeks turning the color of a cherry.

She swallowed, praying for courage. "Um…I really like you Sakimori." She repeated, a bit softer this time. "I have for a long time…I was just too nervous to ever say anything cause' we didn't know one another very well." She laughed slightly, reaching out and placing her hand over his on the bench. "But I want the chance to get to know you…and be one of the people close to you. Hopefully as your girlfriend, someday." she smiled, the blush still on her face.

"Um…uh…" he opened his mouth to speak, but fell backwards, having passed out from all the blood rushing to his head so quickly.

Valencia gasped. "Sakimori!" she said, getting up and rushing to his side. She carefully picked his head up and lifted him, moving so that it was now resting in her lap. "You're so cute." She giggled as she examined his features. She brushed some of his hair from his face, before gently tapping his cheek. "Wake up Sakimori." She sang softly, fanning his face with her other hand to give him some air. She pat his cheek a few more times. "Wake up."

"Looks like you killed him." Valencia heard from above her. She looked back and saw three curious gazes, all belonging to the Uchiha Clan. Izumi, Kairi, and Shiori, the Hokage's daughter, were hovering over the back of the bench looking down at them.

"I didn't try to." She said, looking back down at the boy in her lap before returning her hazel gaze to the girls.

Kairi arched a delicate brow. "What did you do to make him faint? He hasn't done that in forever."

Valencia blushed slightly. "Um…I…confessed my feelings."

The ebony haired girl smirked. "Well it's about time. I thought you never would." She snickered, crossing her arms.

Izumi nodded, looking to her cousins. "Now all that's left is to get my idiot brother to stop being an idiot."

"I know!" Shiori declared. "Even I have a boyfriend before him! And he's gotten to…um…what base is it when you touch them naked?" she blinked, a soft pink blush rising to her cheeks at the thought.

"Third." Izumi clarified, shaking her head at her younger cousin. "What's the deal with everyone getting cool romances except us?!" she asked Kairi.

"It's cause' our dads scare the crap out of all our potential suitors." Kairi huffed. "Cause' I know we're two hot pieces of ass!"

"Damn straight." Izumi nodded, placing her hands on her hips.

Shiori rolled her eyes. "Or _maybe_ it's because you two are snotty bit-" she stopped when she saw both her cousins glaring at her, daring her to continue. "Nevermind." She mumbled quickly.

Valencia sighed. "Well does one of you know how to get him to wake up? Cause' we were kinda in the middle of an important conversation."

"I can help." Kairi smiled, leaning over the bench so that her face was next to her brother's. "Hey! Momo! Quit being a pansy and wake up!" she shouted in his face.

"I'm not a pansy." He grumbled, cracking one of his eyes open and looking up at his sister with his amethyst gaze. Sakimori blinked, looking up a bit more to see Valencia, and it was then that he discovered he was laying in her lap. He gasped and sat up quickly, unfortunately slamming his forehead into his sister's. Both yelled out in agony, placing her hands over the red spots on their foreheads. "Ow!" he yelled, actually glaring at his sister. "What have I told you about being in people's faces!" he huffed.

"I wouldn't have gotten in your face if you hadn't passed out when Val was saying she likes you!" Kairi glared back at him. "You can't just leave a declaration like that hanging in the air, you're going to make her feel self conscious!"

Valencia shrunk down a bit, feeling self conscious not because he'd fainted on her when she'd confessed, but because Kairi was making a big deal out of it. She really didn't want an audience for this, she just wanted him to know how she felt.

"I'm an Uchiha, I can do whatever I please with any declaration I am given." He snapped back, standing and bidding his family good day before he grabbed Valencia's wrist and dragged her up and off away from prying eyes. Once they were a safe distance away, he stopped and faced her, taking a deep breath and mustering up all his courage. "I think you're very pretty and your hair makes me think of flowers. Though I do not know you very well, I would like to." He declared a bit loudly, though it was only because he was trying not to lose his nerve. "I will not be an idiot like my cousin, so I would like to go on a date with you and see how it goes." He nodded, exhaling loudly since he was now finished.

She blinked, blushing as a small smile came to her face. "A date…" she giggled then, bouncing slightly. "I get to go on a date with Sakimori!" she practically squealed, before her eyes widened and she looked back at him. "Um…I mean…yes, I'd love to go on a date with you." she nodded, trying to hold in her fit of giggles since she'd realized she needed to say yes before getting all excited.

"Cool." He nodded, swallowing and glancing off. "So…Friday…at six, I will come and get you from your house." Sakimori spoke quietly. "Now if you don't mind, I have to go and be by myself for a bit. I feel like I might faint again." He smiled, hurrying off and disappearing around the corner.

A huge smile came to Valencia's face and she let out an excited squeal, before running off and hurrying to her home. She burst inside, going straight to her sister's room to share the news. When she grabbed the doorknob, she paused. Wait…she couldn't tell Viletta, could she? They always shared everything, but she didn't want to hurt her sister with this knowledge. But on the other hand, she really, really wanted to share it with someone.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before opening the door. "Lettie?" she asked, poking her head in and looking around the room. She found her sister lying on her bed. "You feeling okay?" she walked inside and sat down on the mattress, placing her hand on the ebony haired girl's forehead.

"I'm fine." Viletta snapped, pushing her sister's hand away as she glared at the ceiling. "What do you want?"

"Well…I…" she frowned and looked forward. "I got asked out on a date." She said softly.

"Really?" the dark haired girl seemed to perk up a bit. "That's great." She smiled, turning on her side so her back was facing her. "Sorry Val, I'm just not in the mood to talk right now…I haven't seen Kurogané in like three days…and I've been wanting to give him his birthday present for a while now…since he disappeared when the day passed." She sighed, her shoulders slumping with defeat.

Valencia looked at her sister's back. "Well why don't you just go on over to his house and give it to him? I heard he's kind of shut himself off from everyone, even his _mom_." She disclosed. "So I think it will perk him up a bit if you visit him. Besides, you look like you could use some fresh air and sunshine."

"You think so…?" Viletta wondered, thinking of her best friend and what could possibly be bothering him, if it wasn't already what she thought it was.

"Of course." She nodded. "I know it would make him feel better, and you as well. You _have_ been waiting for forever to give him his present, after all."

The dark haired girl sat up slowly and nodded. "I guess you're right…after all, waiting for him to do something has gotten me where I am now." She sighed, getting off her bed and pulling on her shoes as she went over and grabbed the long, thin wrapped present in the corner. She went over to her dresser next and changed into a simple white dress, trimmed with black lace, which was what the straps were made of as well. She took out a black necklace and tied it around her neck three times, causing the emerald dip at the top of her cleavage.

Valencia stood and walked over to her sister. "Don't worry about it Lettie. I bet he'll stop being stupid soon and you guys can go back to being regular emos instead of super ones." She smiled, following her to the front door.

"Har, har." Viletta almost cracked a smile as she hugged her sister. "Thanks, I'll see you later." She waved before heading out and making her way towards the Uchiha district. But the closer she got, the more nervous she became. Finally, she was in the gates and could see his front door getting bigger. "Oh god this was a terrible idea." She whispered, but knocked on the door before she could turn back now.

A few moments later it opened, revealing Kai, who looked relieved upon seeing who it was. "Thank God." He said, smiling at her as he stepped aside for her to enter. "Come on in Viletta, Kuro's back in his room."

She blinked, seeming confused as she walked in and glanced up at Kai. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah…sure." The elder man tried to wave it off. "If you ignore the ominous, happiness-destroying cloud around Kuro's room, everything's great."

"Um…well I'll just go see him then." She pointed down the hall, making her way to Kurogané's bedroom. She knocked on the door, pretty loudly, just in case he was sleeping.

There was no response, until suddenly the door opened. Kurogané stood there, seeming to stare at her as if he didn't actually believe she was in his house. "Viletta…" he said softly, reaching out and touching her hair to make sure she was real. "What…what are you doing here?"

Her head tilted slightly into his hand as she relished in the gesture she'd been denied. "Happy Birthday." She smiled, offering him the present. "I…didn't get to see you on the day…since you disappeared, but I made it for you myself." She smiled.

His jade gaze shifted down to the package, and he took it from her, turning and going into his room, silently telling her to follow. She did, watching him slowly peel back the wrapping to reveal what she had gotten him. It was a finely crafted sheath, glossy, with swirling blacks and grays. Hanging around the top were two charms, each a half of the yin and yang symbol. "I made it for your sword. It's made out of wood and metal, wood on the inside so it doesn't scrape at the blade." Viletta smiled, clasping her hands together as she watched for his reaction. "What do you think?"

Kurogané held the sheath gently, running his thumb along the smooth exterior as he looked at it in awe. He loved it. It was actually the best, most thoughtful present anyone had ever given him in his life, and he just knew he would use it all the time, so as to keep Viletta close to him. "It's…" But before he could tell her of his thoughts, he paused. What did it matter what he thought? She didn't like him anymore, she liked his cousin. His thoughts on anything meant nothing to her. "It's okay I guess." He said softly, his words hurting even him to have to say.

The smile and light expression on her face fell slowly, as his words sunk in, causing her heart to plummet to her feet. "Oh…" she said, pursing her lips together as she kept her emotions in, but she felt herself about to cry. She'd worked so hard on his gift, because she wanted it to be perfect. "Well…I guess I'll just go then…" she said sadly, looking down at the ground.

He felt his heart clench, but it had to be this way. They couldn't keep treating one another as they used to if she was going to push him away and like his cousin. It wasn't fair. He kept his gaze on the scabbard, knowing that if he looked at her he would crumble. "If you want." he nearly whispered, wanting nothing more than for her to stay.

A stray tear slid down her cheek as her eyes practically bled to black. She picked up a kunai on his dresser and threw it at his back, her anger bubbling over. "Why are you pushing me away Kurogané?!" she demanded. "Why can't you just say what you really feel instead of this stupid lie!"

The Uchiha winced slightly from the pain that shot through him, though his sand had blocked the kunai. He turned and glared at her. "I'm not the one doing the pushing!" he shouted. "Ever since you got this stupid crush on Mori you've been pushing me away, and a little bit before that too. You don't let me touch you, you don't even touch me…and you don't get rid of my bruises anymore!" he said, sounding like a child throwing a fit.

"Are you kidding me?!" she exploded, wincing as she placed her hands on the side of her head as it pulsated. "I gave you the greatest chance in the world! _You _said you didn't want things to change. _You_ said 'why complicate things'?" she practically spat out. "What are you so afraid of?!"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" he said adamantly, gripping his hair to try and ignore the pain he was feeling. "And if you recall, _you_ were the one holding _my_ dick, so I thought all you wanted was to have sex! Simple, uncomplicated, fucking fantastic sex!"

"I did want to have sex!" she yelled back. "I wanted to have sex with you! _Because_ it was you, but you've got your head so far up your ass you can't see anything! I mean you can't_ really_ be this stupid!"

He growled. "Well since apparently I _am_, why don't you just go ahead and tell me whatever it is that you've been hiding that's been making you act so weird!" he said, crossing his arms.

Viletta took a deep breath, finally reigning in her emotions and wiping away her tears as her eyes began to clear into their normal deep green. "You wanna know what's making me so mad! You don't ever talk to me anymore, you shut down when I told you about my _slight_ interest in Sakimori. _I_ think you just don't want anything to do with me anymore cause' you didn't get what you wanted! Which was apparently right on the money with me thinking you wanted to be_just_ like your uncle! I'm not a wild oat Kurogané! And I will not be sowed!" she pointed at him accusingly.

Kurogané blinked, confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I tried to make us something special and you just wanted to have sex with me!" she repeated, glaring at him. "Sometimes I wonder if you just stayed friends with me so you could do things to me cause' I was too trusting." She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

He deadpanned. "That…is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard come out of your mouth. If that's what you think of me then clearly you do not know me as well as I thought you did."

"Well I obviously don't know what you want and you clearly can't see what I want." She frowned. "So maybe we just shouldn't be friends anymore. Because you're mean and emotionally abandoning…and…and just emo!"

The ebony haired boy actually took a small step back, looking as if she had slapped him. His jaw clenched, and he looked off. "If…that is what you want." he said. All he'd ever wanted was for her to be happy, and if being with him wasn't making her happy, then he would do the right thing and let her go. Because he loved her.

"God!" she screamed out, her hand clenching into fists as she began to cry again. "You're so fucking stupid! Why don't you just do us both a favor and continue what you're doing and leave me alone!" she yelled, turning around and running from his room before slamming his front door.

His eyes shut tightly as he felt her presence growing further and further away from him. When they opened, they gazed upon the scabbard she had made. The wonderful, beautiful scabbard. He would cherish this for the rest of his existence, because it would be the last thing connecting him to Viletta anymore. She didn't want him around? Fine. He would abide by her wishes. Besides, it wouldn't be too hard to lose himself in his missions and goal of one day taking over Anbu for his uncle. Because as he saw it…feeling nothing as he cut down a victim was better than what he was feeling right now. And what he was feeling right now was so chaotic, he didn't think he'd ever be happy ever again.

And it was all because of the beautifully stupid girl who'd just run from his room, and become his ex-best friend.


	10. Collision

**Melancholy**

_Chapter Ten_

-Collision-

_**Two and a half years later…**_

"Impressive." Noriaki nodded, looking over the papers in front of him as he sat at his desk in the central Anbu headquarters. "Very impressive. I must say, I am a bit confused." He glanced up, meeting deep green depths with his own jade gaze. "I was always under the impression you didn't approve of Anbu."

"That was before." A soft, yet strong voice said simply.

"I can see that." The Uchiha nodded, standing as he stamped the paper with his approval and then rolled up the scroll. "Well congratulations Viletta, you're officially in the Anbu. I have already assigned you to a captain. He's one of my best."

The dark haired girl nodded, "Thank you." She bowed her head. Viletta had matured quite a bit since her younger teen years. She'd filled out even more, her chest ample and fairly large. Her hair was still cut short, aside from her bangs, which now just barely touched her shoulders. Her outfit was still the same, only now she wore an ivory sash to contrast with her black attire.

"I honestly had no idea you were this good." Noriaki smirked as he started out of his office, gesturing for her to follow him.

"I was just honored that you wanted to test me yourself." She shrugged, looking around the compound as they passed a few rooms.

The elder Uchiha chuckled. "Well, after I read all the things you can do, I couldn't risk any of my bodies. I have important things for them to do. And I am simply amazing." He shrugged, only making Viletta roll her eyes at his arrogance. They came to a large door marked 'ichi' and went in. "Now, you will be in squad one. I believe you and the captain are already acquainted." Noriaki chuckled as he stepped aside, causing her to go wide eyed.

"Kurogané." Noriaki called, "this is your new teammate." He smirked, looking back at the shell shocked woman. "Viletta, Kurogané is your team captain."

Said boy, well, now man, looked towards the door, having been in the middle of filling out some paperwork from a previous mission he had gone on. His eyes widened fractionally, and he stood, slowly making his way over towards the two. He was slightly taller than his uncle, and his shoulders had broadened a bit more. Nowadays he kept his hair shorter, though the white streak on the left side was slightly longer than the rest, making it look more prominent. Dressed in the traditional Anbu attire, it was easy for Viletta to see how he had grown. Her gaze came to rest on his jade one, and like always, it was unreadable as to exactly what he was thinking.

Kurogané stopped in front of his uncle, his eyes still glued to the girl before him. She was beautiful. Even more beautiful than he'd remembered. He hadn't really seen much of Viletta since she had ended their friendship. They'd avoided one another at all costs, and he'd focused on getting into Anbu at a young age, succeeding and going on to be part of a team. It was just recently that his uncle had given him the privilege of being a captain, and that was why he was in the process of getting a team. Though, now that he had Viletta, his team was made.

"Viletta." He spoke in greeting, his deeper voice nearly sending a shiver down her spine.

It took her a bit longer to regain her wits before she looked over at Noriaki, "Are you kidding me." She demanded.

"What?" the elder Uchiha chuckled, turning to leave. "I don't know who you think I am little Viletta, but I don't believe in the whole…'setup' thing like my sister." He said, unable to control his insane laughter as he left the room.

Kurogané watched his uncle leave before he returned his gaze to Viletta. "So…how have you been?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"Fine." She said, avoiding his gaze and taking a seat on one of the plush sofas.

"You want me to show you around or anything?"

Viletta rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Not particularly."

He shrugged. "Alright." he said, shutting the door to their team room and going back over to the desk he'd been working at. He sat down, continuing to fill out his paperwork.

The silence hung in the air like a thick fog, continuing to drag on until suddenly the door was slammed open and in walked a boy and a girl. The boy was tall, and fairly buff, with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. There was a rough look about him, but he didn't give off the vibe that went along with it. The girl had long orange hair tied back in a braid, and blue eyes. She was clearly a very quiet person based on the way she carried herself, and immediately went to go sit at one of the other tables, while the boy plopped down on the couch across from Viletta as if he owned the place. Both were dressed in Anbu attire, the only difference being that the girl had a red band tied around her arm, signaling her to be the team's medic.

"So you our new teammate?" the brunette asked, raising a brow and giving her a once over.

"Unfortunately." Viletta grumbled, looking up at the man. "Are you…you're the one dating the Hokage's daughter, right?"

He smiled slightly, though it looked almost like a smirk. "Yup, Yoshida Shusui's my name. Shiori and I have been going strong for about four years now, going on five next month." He stretched, raising his arms above his head and pointing back at the girl. "That's Asuka, she doesn't really talk much, so don't mind her." He said, reclining back on the couch.

The dark haired girl smiled, nodding to the girl before looking back at Shusui. "Must be nice. So who asked whom out?" she wondered, trying not to glare over at Kurogané.

"I guess you could say I asked her." the brunette shrugged. "We just kinda started hanging out, and I sort of made her go on dates with me." he smirked. "Well, she didn't know they were dates until I took her home later and told her so. Then she got all confused and confronted me about treating her weird and told me to either date her for real or leave her alone. So that's when I stated that she was already my girlfriend. You should have seen the look on her face." he chuckled, shaking his head.

Viletta actually laughed, "Wow. That's pretty crazy. It's good to see there are still _some_ guys who aren't retardedly stupid about what they want."

Kurogané rolled his eyes. "Every guy knows what they want, the girls are just too blind to see it." he muttered.

Shusui looked back at his captain in confusion, before returning his gaze to her. He clapped once, before pointing at Viletta. "Now I know who you are! It's been bothering me since I walked in, but I got it!" he smiled. "You're the chick Kuro fucked everything up with!" he laughed, seeming to find it all amusing as he leaned against the back of the couch. "Man, you're hotter than I thought you'd be."

"Shut up Shusui." The Uchiha ordered, not even sparing them a glance, though now he was writing with more ferocity.

"Right on the head." The dark haired woman sighed, standing. "Well would either of you mind giving me a tour of the establishment?"

"Sure, I can-" Shusui began, only to be cut off by Kurogané.

"I will." The Uchiha stood, picking up his finished report and walking over to the couches.

Viletta crossed her arms, looking like a stubborn toddler. "No." she huffed.

He pointed to himself. "Team Captain. Means you have to do what I say. Now let's go." He said, going over to the door and opening it for her.

She scoffed. "I didn't let you order me around when we were little and I sure as hell am not going to let you do it now." Viletta, glared off. "The only way you make me go with you is if you drag me out of here."

"If that's how you want it." Kurogané sighed, rolling up his papers and sticking them in his back pocket before walking over to her and picking her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

Viletta went wide eyed, her cheeks taking on an unhealthy red as she screamed out. "What are you doing?!" she flailed. "This is sexual harassment! I'll report you!" she threatened as the two disappeared out the door. Asuka simply stared after them before returning her blue gaze to her teammate.

"I don't think she fully realizes who she would be reporting to…Noriaki-sama finds sexual harassment amusing…"

"I think this whole situation is hilarious." Shusui chuckled, standing. "Well, I'm going to go find my lady. See you later." He waved, leaving the room.

Asuka shook her head. Things on their team were definitely going to be interesting, that's for sure.

* * *

"And here are the training rooms." Kurogané said, entering with Viletta still thrashing about on his shoulder. Everyone in the area looked over at the pair in curiosity, before returning to their tasks. He sighed, patting her rear, something he'd decided to hold to have a better grip on her. "You know, I'd put you down if you promised not to try and run away again." He told her, turning so that she could actually look and see the equipment that Anbu were provided to train with.

"Fine! I won't run away, just put me down!" she ordered, still blushing, especially now that they had an audience.

He hoisted her forward, catching her before she hit the ground and holding her like he used to. A smirk came to his face as he met her gaze, and then he straightened, setting her back on her feet. "Now don't give me that look, you practically dared me to carry you out." he said, setting his hands on his hips.

"I most certainly did not." She huffed, placing her hands on his and removing them from her person. "And stop molesting me. I don't like people touching me…ever." She said seriously, though the place where he had been holding was still tingly.

"Trust me, what I've done to you so far today is not molestation in any way." Kurogané said, gesturing towards the door. "Now, shall we? There's more to see."

She rolled her eyes and followed after him, looking around as they passed things. He showed her where the kitchen was, and the main area where everybody could hang out, as well as the different offices she was to go to for certain things, since his uncle didn't like people to come to him about stupid problems. They stopped in front of another set of doors then, and it was labeled 'women'. "This is the girl's locker rooms. You can just go in and pick one to keep a spare set of clothes in or whatever. Now, it's connected to the guys' room through the showers, meaning it's shared. So if you don't want to risk being seen naked by anyone, I would just forego showering here." He said.

"It's a men's and women's shower?" she arched a curious brow.

He nodded. "Yeah, most people don't really care. I mean, there's curtains and individual stalls for the shy ones, but you'd be surprised how many immature and pervy people there are in Anbu."

Viletta's blush returned. "D…Do people have sex in there?"

He smirked. "What do you think?"

"That's…" Hot. She finished in her head, an image popping into her head, though she was not happy with whom she was picturing slamming into her as he shoved her body against the cold tile. "Disturbing." She frowned, wrapping her arms around her front as she tried to hide the shiver of delight. It wouldn't do to think about that idiot. Just because they were on the same team meant nothing.

The Uchiha shrugged. "I always thought shower sex would be interesting." He commented, turning to lead her off somewhere else.

They eventually walked into a storage type room. "You can go ahead and pick out your uniforms." He said, directing her to where the women's ones were located. "We get two to keep, and if one gets damaged or whatever you can just come back and pick out something else."

She nodded and went in, looking for her size, grabbing a sleeveless black shirt and some black shorts to go along with her vest and thigh high ninja shoes. She went over to the masks and searched, tossing a few aside. She didn't know what to pick until she saw a tiger mask. She smiled and pulled it out, setting it on top of her pile. "There."

"You can go ahead and change and pick out your locker. I'm gonna go turn this stuff in. Just meet back at the team's room." Kurogané said, waving his roll of papers.

"Do we already have a mission?" Viletta blinked, seeming a bit confused.

"Nah, my uncle is just gonna give us a briefing about what he expects from us, and it's protocol to wear your uniform when inside the building. Unless you're just dropping something off." he told her.

"Oh…" she nodded. "Okay." She said, before heading off the way she remembered.

Kurogané made his way back to his uncle's office, and didn't even knock before going in. He held in a sigh at seeing the elder man balancing a pencil on his nose, and seeming very absorbed in the activity. "You know…I'm sure you have other things to do Uncle." He said, shutting the door behind him.

The elder Uchiha scoffed, removing the utensil from his nose. "What do you want Kurogané?" he asked, placing it down and leaning back in his chair.

"Just turning these in." he set the papers down on the desk. "And I showed Viletta around, so everyone should be gathered for the debriefing in the team room whenever you're ready. She's just changing clothes."

Noriaki smirked, giving his nephew a close look. "So you like your new teammate?"

The ebony haired boy crossed his arms. "I don't feel the need in dignifying that with an answer." He grumbled, looking off. "Why'd you put her on my team anyways? You know she hates me."

"But I also know that you love her." He pointed out, kicking his feet up on his desk, clearly not making a move to go inspect the new team.

Kurogané frowned. "Yeah but…I don't know how to be with her without messing everything up like I did the first time."

Noriaki scoffed. "Stop being a fucking idiot, that's what." He rolled his eyes. "With that type of woman, you're just going to have to fuck her brains out to show her you're her one true love. It's as simple as calling her into your office for a discussion and pinning her to the desk while you fondle her breasts and rub you dick against her begging lips." He snickered.

"She does have really nice breasts…" He blushed slightly and looked back at his uncle. "What if she reports me for harassment? You know my mom won't look kindly on it if she finds out."

The dark haired man stood, setting his hands on his hips. "Do you really doubt my methods in getting women Kurogané?"

"No Uncle." He shook his head quickly, his jade eyes slightly wide. "I've heard how you got Aunt Hikari to admit that she liked you, so I know they work. I just…am unsure as to how to go about it. She makes me nervous."

Noriaki scoffed. "A _woman_ makes _you_, an Uchiha, nervous?"

He crossed his arms. "It's not like I'd be the first one." He grumbled.

"Your great-grandfather took what he wanted from that two bit whore he fucked. Your grandfather took grandma! And I sure as hell took my sexy fine wife with no hint of hesitation. Be a man and suck it up! You have to take what you want and show her who's boss or she'll just walk all over you!" he declared, the air around him heating up from his passion and dark smirk as his eyes flared up with inner flames.

Kurogané nodded, his uncle's fervor igniting his own. "You're right, I just have to dominate her, and she'll submit to me more easily, and realize we are meant to be together!" he hit his palm with a fist in determination.

"Exactly!" Noriaki smirked, rubbing his hands together. "That's what I'm saying." He nodded and led his nephew out. "Once a woman gets a taste of your dick, she won't ever stop coming back. It's a gift, I must say."

He blinked, looking at him as they made their way back to his team's room. "But…how do I know _when_ to take her?" he asked.

"Trust me Kurogané. When the time comes, you will know." Noriaki actually smiled. "These things have a funny way of working themselves out."

The two continued to walk down the halls, coming upon the door title ichi once more. Kurogané opened it, revealing Asuka and Viletta, who was now in her uniform and talking to the other girl. He looked around. "Where'd Shusui go?" he asked, since he knew his uncle would be angry if his time was wasted.

"He went to mess around with Shiori. There's no telling when he'll be back." Asuka said.

Noriaki scowled, glancing over at his blood. "Go get him. And inform him he will be receiving disciplinary action from me _personally_. The longer it takes, the longer he suffers."

Kurogané nodded, expanding his chakra to locate his cousin before disappearing in a swirl of sand. When he reappeared, it was in an alleyway next to the Anbu Headquarters. He looked around, before spotting the two in a heated make-out session with Shiori pressed up against the wall. He rolled his eyes and walked over to them, clearing his throat loudly.

Shusui groaned, lifting one of his hands and waving the Uchiha away so that he could continue his actions. Kurogané sighed, walking up to them and placing his hand on his teammate's shoulder, before yanking him away from his cousin. "What the fuck man?!" the brunette growled. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"We need to go." He said simply.

"Kuro…" Shiori pouted, keeping her grip on her boyfriend's shirt. "It's been forever since we got to make out."

The ebony haired boy just shook his head. "Uncle Nori is waiting to debrief us, and the longer it takes, the longer Shusui has to suffer under his personal discipline."

"Aw man…that dude's gonna kick my ass." Shusui sighed, rubbing his girlfriend's back as he looked down at her. "I gotta go sweetness. But I'll come by your place later and we can finish what we started." He smirked, kissing her forehead.

Shiori smiled up at him, getting on her tip toes and kissing him once more before letting her cousin take him away. "See you later Shusui." She waved.

"Bye baby." Shusui waved, before he and Kurogané disappeared in his grainy sands. They reappeared in their team room then.

"Got him." Kurogané said, the two boys going over to sit with the rest of their teammates on the couches.

Shusui bowed slightly to Noriaki before sitting. "Sorry to keep you waiting sir. I lost track of the time."

"Well you sure as hell will be when I'm done with you." He said darkly, before letting out an annoyed sigh. "Alright, Viletta you are the final member of Ichi. So the others will tell you their specialties and you will do the same. Asuka, start and we'll end with Kurogané."

The orange haired girl nodded. "I specialize in medical ninjutsu for the most part, so my role is mostly to heal the three of you, not participate in combat. My chakra is water based, and so I use many different water jutsus when I am in a position that calls for me to join in the battle." She said.

"I'm a Senjutsu master." Shusui said, reclining and placing his arms on the back of the couch. "I'm also pretty good with taijutsu, and have earth based chakra."

Kurogané looked at his teammates before looking at Viletta. "I possess the sharingan, use lightning and fire jutsu, have sand that I inherited from my mother, and specialize in sword techniques." He summed up.

Noriaki turned his gaze to Viletta and gestured for her to speak. "Um…well as you know I'm Viletta." She said, now feeling slightly uncomfortable because all eyes were on her. "My weapon of choice is a scythe. I can control shadows in any way I choose. I'm very good at taijutsu. I can also take someone's pain and transfer it to another…and…I can steal people's souls…just by touching them."

The Uchiha Anbu head blinked, for the first time looking slightly uncomfortable as he took a step away from Viletta. Shusui arched a brow. "Really? How does that work?" he asked, intrigued.

"All I have to do is touch their forehead, or over their heart and focus really hard on ripping their soul from their flesh. And then they die." She shrugged.

"That's…kinda cool." The brunette smiled, nodding.

Asuka gave her an interested look. "Does it take a lot out of you to do that?"

"It really depends…on how much they really want to live." She explained, trying to think of more. "Oh, and I can kill people by crying."

"Really now?" Noriaki seemed interested.

Viletta nodded. "When I cry, my eyes turn black as do those around me, and it'll eventually kill them if I cry long enough."

"So…what are the chances of that happening?" the orange haired girl asked. "I mean, how well can you control whether or not you cry? Just out of curiosity."

"Well, I haven't cried since I was sixteen." She said, giving Kurogané a small glare. "So pretty well. Besides, there was only one person who could make me cry and he can no longer do that, so I think we're safe."

Kurogané refrained from rolling his eyes at her insult, since he knew he deserved it. "Then I guess we don't have anything to worry about." He said, crossing his arms.

"We sure don't." she huffed, keeping her glare on him.

"So what else do we need to go over?" Shusui spoke up. "Cause' I personally don't want to sit here while these two glare and argue with each other in their stupid little passive aggressive way." he said, pointing between Kurogané and Viletta.

Noriaki focused his annoyed jade gaze on Shusui. "No. That's it. You come with me. We need to work out some of that arrogance you parade around with." He snapped, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

The brunette grimaced. "Great." He muttered, getting up and following after the man. "If I die, tell Shiori I thought of her in my last moments." Were his last words before he left the room. And with him gone, Asuka stood and quickly left as well, muttering something about getting something to eat. Because there was _no_ way she wanted to be left alone with those two without Shusui to diffuse the situation.

"Well now that I'm done here…" Viletta huffed, turning on her heel to leave. Kurogané stood quickly and grabbed her arm, halting her.

"I think we should talk." He said.

Viletta looked back at him, looking all but friendly. "I think we've talked enough. Besides I don't want to talk to you."

He frowned. "But…I want to talk to you."

She just huffed and faced him, pulling her arm from his grip and crossing them. "Fine. What?"

Kurogané blinked, since he hadn't really thought about what he was going to say. "Well…I just want to know…I mean…do you…" he wiped a hand down the side of his face and sighed. "Nevermind. You can go if you want to." He turned and began to walk back over to the desk he'd been at earlier.

She stared after him, seeming to lighten her glare. Viletta simply sighed, before turning around and grabbing her things. She stopped at the door, glancing back, but decided to forgo a goodbye and left him alone in the common room.

He glanced at the empty doorway and sighed. "God Kuro you idiot." He muttered, hitting his forehead lightly with his fist. He sat down at the table and picked up his sword, examining the sheath that he'd had ever since his seventeenth birthday. He ran his fingers lightly over the exterior, before looking at the yin and yang symbols. What he wouldn't give to go back to that day and take back everything he said.

But this was good, at least. He was being given a second chance at being with Viletta. And this time, he wasn't going to mess it up. This time, he was going to do things right, beginning with getting her to like him once more.


End file.
